tHE 


TRUSTEES'  ACCOUNT 


ot 


OTHER  EXHIBITIONS, 


AT  TOPSFIELD. 


OCT.  5,  1820. 


SALEM: 

?!tt!VTKtt   BY  JOH.T  D.  CViRJlfO. 
1831. 


TRUSTEES'  ACCOUNT,  §c. 


This  beinsf  the  first  essay  of  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society, 
a  splendid  exhibition  was  not  looked  for.  The  experiment  has 
shown  the  necessity  of  different  arrangements,  which  shall  ad- 
mit of  a  more  convenient  and  satisfactory  inspection  of  articles 
presented  for  premiums — of  time  to  consider  the  merits  of  each 
— to  write  the  reports  thereon,  by  the  various  committees,  and 
to  publish,  and  deliver  to  the  successful  candidates,  the  premi- 
ums which  shall  be  awarded.  The  want  of  such  arrangements 
has  been  the  chief  cause  of  the  delay  in  publishing  the  transac- 
tions of  the  day.  The  Trustees  subjoin  to  this  account  a  plan 
which  they  hope  will  effecttf&Uy  remedy,  in  future,  the  incon- 
veniences which  have  attended  the  first  essay. 

REPORTS    OF   COMMITTEES. 

No.  I. 

WORKIJVG  OXEJy  AJ^D  JVEAT  LIVE  STOCK. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  examine  Working  Oxen  and 
Neat  Live  Stocky  and  to  award  premiums,  have  attended  to  the 
duty  assigned  them,  and  respectfully 

REPORT, 

That  the  number  of  large  and  superior  working  oxen  far  ex- 
ceeded their  expectations,  demonstrating  their  utility  and  supe- 
riority in  the  labours  of  the  husbandman,  and  the  importance  of 
the  requisites  prescribed  by  the  society,  to  entitle  them  to  pre- 
miums; inasmuch  as  among  the  many  excellent  cattle  exhibited, 
and  which  rendered  it  in  some  cases  a  matter  of  very  careful 
discrimination  to  whom  the  prize  should  be  awarded,  there  w:;? 


4 

an  obvious  deficiency  in  training  them  to  their  highest  useful- 
ness, which  might  otherwise  have  secured  the  premium.  Under 
these  impressions, 

They  have  awarded  the  first  premium,  for  the  best  trained 
working  oxen,  not  less  than  five  years  old. 

To  Mr.  Samuel  Wheeler,  of  Newburyport,  for  a  yoke  of  oxen 
owned  and  driven  by  himself — fifteen  dollars. 

To  Mr.  Samuel  Hood,  of  Topsfield,  the  second  premium  for 
his  yoke  of  oxen,  five  years  old,  of  a  deep  red  colour — ten  dol- 
lars. 

The  premium  for  the  best  bull,  not  less  than  one  year  old,  to 
Asa  Andrews,  Esq.  of  Ipswich,  for  his  dark  brindle  bull — fifteen 
dollars. 

The  second  to  Jacob  Wilkins,  of  Marblehead,  for  his  red  bull, 
— ten  dollars. 

The  third  to  Gorham  Parsons,  Esq.  for  a  dark  red  bull,  fron^ 
his  farm  in  By  fie  Id — five  dollars. 

It  was  a  subject  of  regret  to  the  committee,  on  examining  the 
milch  cows,  that  so  few  were  entered  for  premiums;  as  they 
are  always  a  great  object  to  the  farmer,  both  for  the  dairy  and 
his  future  stock;  and  it  being  so  obvious  that  a  first  rate  cow 
requires  no  more  expense  for  her  support  than  an  inferior  one — 
requiring  of  the  farmer  only  some  care  in  selecting  his  stock  for 
breeding;  for  he  seldom  if  ever  gives  or  obtains,  in  exchange, 
between  a  superior  and  a  common  cow,  more  than  the  difierence 
of  profit  for  a  single  year;  always  leaving  him  who  takes  the 
common  one  impoverished  by  the  exchange.  It  is  not  believed 
that  the  sample  exhibited  bears  any  proportion  to  this  valuable 
animal  through  the  county,  cultivated  as  it  is  by  capable  and  en- 
terprising farmers.  The  cause  of  the  deficiency,  at  this  exhi- 
bition, must  be  attributed  to.  the  undue  expectations  raised  on 
this  subject— and  it  cannot  be  doubted  will  be  remedied  at  tiae 
next  anniversary. — They  remarked  however  with  satisfaction, 
that  those  intended  for  premium  were  very  superior — there 
were  also  several  others  exhibited,  but  not  intended  for  premi- 
um, that  were  very  fine,  particularly  a  cow  and  her  progeny 
belonging  to  Asa  Andrews,  Esq.  of  Ipswich,  being  the  same 
stock  of  the  bull  that  obtained  the  first  premium,  and  a  cow  of 


•ihe  famous  Eakwell  breed,  belonging  to  the    Hon.  Timotby 
Pickering — and  several  others. 

They  adjudged  the  premium  for  the  best  milch  cow  to  Mr, 
Jacob  B.  Winchester,  of  Salem— tifteen  dollars ; 

And  for  the  second  best  to  Samuel  Farrar,  Esq.  of  Andover, 
— ten  dollars. 

For  the  best  bull  calf  to  Mr.  Jonathan  Berry,  of  Middleton, 
— five  dollars. 

For  the  second  best  to  Samuel  Farrar,  Esq.   of  Andover,— 
three  dollars. 

For  the  best  heifer  calf,  to  Mr.  Simon  Smith,  of  Saugus— five 
dollars. 

For  the  second,  to  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering— three  dollars, 
for  his  calf  raised  from  native  stock. 

It  was  particularly  gratifying  to  see  the  large  number  of  bull 
and  heifer  calves,  entered  for  premiums,  evincing  as  it  does  the 
interest  already  excited  by  this  exhibition,  and  the  spirit  of  im- 
provement which  is  so  happily  extending  throughout  the  county. 
Should  this  spirit  continue,  it  is  not  difficult  to  anticipate  the  pe- 
riod not  far  distant,  when  the  neat  cattle  of  the  county  of  Ea^est, 
will  vie  with  any  part  of  this  country  for  beauty  and  worth. 
Which  is  submitted  by 

BENJAMIN  T.  REED, 

Per  order  of  Committee. 


No.  II. 

FAT  OXE.V  d^rn  SWIXE. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  award  premiums  on  Fat  Oxcvi, 
and  Swine^  have  attended  that  duty,  and 

REPORT, 

That  no  fat  oxen  were  offered. 

The  Committee  award — 

To  Mr.  George  Adams,  of  Newbury,  for  the  best  boar — eight 
dollars. 

'f  0  Mr.  Samuel  Hood,  of  Topsfield,  for  the  second  best  boar, 
-r— five  dollars. 


To  Mr.  Elias  Putnam,  of  Danvers,  lor  the  best  breeding  sow, 
. — eight  dollars. 

To  Mr.  Benjamin  Savory,  of  Newburj',  for  the  second  best, 
— five  dollar?. 

To  Mr.  Elia?  Putnam,  of  Danvers,  for  the  best  litter  of  wean- 
ed pig's — six  dollars. 

To  Mr.  William  W.  Little,  for  the  second  best — four  dollars. 

The  Committee  add,  that  Mr.  Amos  Shelden,  of  Beverly,  ex- 
hibited a  very  fine  boar,  the  breed  of  which,  in  their  opinion, 
deserves  encouragement ;  and  that  Col.  Jesse  Putnam,  of  Dan- 
vers, exhibited  four  pigs,  three  of  them  very  fine. 

PAUL  KENT, 

JOS.  WINN,  f  ^         ...  , 

STEPHEN  ABBOT,  r^^'*"' 
J  EKE.  COLMAN, 


No.  lU. 

JJ>rDMJ>r  CORJ^  ^J^D  FOTJiTOES, 

The  Committee  to  examine  claims,  and  award  premiums,  for 

Indian  Corn  and  Potatoes,  have  attended  to  the  duty  assigned 

them,  and 

REPORT, 

That  Tristram  Little,  of  Newbury,  is  entitled  to  the  first  pre- 
mium on  Indian  corn,  having  raised  103^  bushels  on  one  acre — 
fifteen  dollars. 

That  James  and  Stephen  Hathaway,  of  Marblehead,  are  en- 
titled to  the  second  premium  on  Indian  corn,  having  raised  one 
hundred  and  ninety  bushels  and  seventeen  quarts  on  two  acres, 
eight  rods  and  twenty  two  links — ten  dollars. 

That  John  Dwinell,  of  Salem,  is  entitled  to  the  first  premium 
on  potatoes,  having  raised  three  hundred  and  ninety  eight  and  a 
half  bushels  on  one  acre — fifteen  dollars. 

That  Col.  Jesse  Putnam,  of  Danvers,  is  entitled  to  the  second 
premium  on  potatoes,  having  raised  three  hundred  and  ninety 
seven  bushels  on  one  acre — ten  dollars. 

JACOB  B.  WINCHESTER,) 

for  himself  and  \  Committee. 

TEMPLE  CUTLER,  \ 


EXPEJilMEJrrS  WITH  IJ^DMJ^  CORM 

Mr.  Tristram  Little  (to  whom  the  first  premium  was  granted) 
slates  his  comparative  experiments  of  planting  in  hills  and  ia 
double  continued  rows,  in  the  following  manner. 

He  selected  two  acres  of  about  the  same  quality,  the  soil  a 
dark  clay  mould,  which  in  1819  received  four  cords  of  manure 
to  the  acre,  were  planted  with  potatoes,  and  yielded,  per  acre, 
about  two  hundred  and  eighty  bushels. 

In  May,  1820,  he  ploughed  the  whole  about  nine  inches  deep, 
and  about  the  middle  of  that  month  began  to  plant  his  com. 
On  one  acre  he  opened  doable  furrows  two  feet  apart,  leaving 
a  space  of  five  feet  between  the  double  furrows.  In  these  fur- 
rows he  strewed  ten  cords  of  manure,  and  with  a  back  furrow 
to  each,  covered  the  same.  He  (hen  dropped  his  corn,  the 
grains  eight  inches  apart ;  and  then,  by  turning  another  furrow, 
covered  the  corn  ;  which  was  thus  left  in  double  rows  two  feet 
apart. 

The  other  acre  he  planted  in  hills,  equally  distant  each  way, 
making  twenty-six  hundred  hills  in  all ;  which  gave  16|  square 
feet  to  each  hill — that  is,  the  hills  were  a  fraction  more  than 
four  feet  apart.  To  this  acre  he  applied  six  cords  of  manure, 
of  the  same  quality  with  that  used  on  the  other  acre. 

About  the  2 1st  of  October  he  finished  harvesting  his  crop. 
The  produce  in  favour  of  the  hills  was  as  20  to  19  in  the  double 
rows.  He  remarks,  that  when  corn  is  thus  planted  in  continued 
rows,  these  should  run  north  and  south,  [that  the  sun  may  shine 
equally  on  both  sides.]  Flis  run  east  and  west ;  and  he  think? 
the  north  row  was  not  so  good  as  the  south,  by  one  third  part. 

The  acre  planted  in  hills  received  sixteen  days  labour,  inclu- 
ding the  team  :   the  acre  in  double  rows,  two  days  more. 

The  Messrs.  Hathaways,  to  whom  the  second  premium  wa» 
awarded,  state,  that  their  field  was,  in  1817,  a  common  rough  pas- 
ture— was  broken  up  in  lfil8,  planted  with  Indian  corn,  with  z 
common  quantity  of  manure — and  yielded  a  large  crop.  Ic 
1819,  about  the  usual  quantity  of  manure  from  privies  tva« 
ploughed  in,  and  corn  planted.  It  yielded  80  bushels  to  the 
acre.     Ia  1890,  twenty  «art  bgcJjei  f«ll  of  the  same  kind  of  ma- 


ft 

tlure  as  in  1819  (that  is,  night  soil  from  privies)  were  ploughed 
in,  and  corn  was  planted  on  the  12th  of  May,  in  hills  three  feet 
apart,  five  grains  to  a  hill,  carefully  distanced.  It  was  hoed 
twice,  but  would  not  admit  of  a  third  hoeing,  from  the  crowded 
state  of  the  field  :  the  first  hoeing  on  the  3d  of  June,  the  second 
about  the  23d.  It  was  harvested  the  29th  of  September,  and 
yielded  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  bushels  and  a  half  of  com. 
The  quantity  of  land  two  acres,  eight  rods  and  twenty-two 
links,  or  nearly  two  acres  and  nine  rods ;  giving  nioety-seven 
bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre. 

The  preceding  two  premiums  for  Indian  corn  were  all  that 
the  trustees  had  proposed  to  offer.  But  they  think  it  expedi- 
ent to  notice  the  claim  of  Mr.  Samuel  Day,  of  Ipswich.  His 
intention  appears  to  have  been  to  plant  an  acre  ;  but  when 
measured,  the  piece  fell  short  by  seven  rods.  His  product, 
however,  was  ninety-one  bushels — or  at  the  rate  of  03  bushels 
to  an  acre.  He  states  that  this  piece  of  land,  of  a  kindly  soil, 
was  broken  up  in  May,  1819 — furrowed  both  ways,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  four  feet  seven  inches — had  ten  loads  of  barn  manure 
put  in  the  hills,  (the  crossings  of  the  furrows)  and  five  grains  of 
corn  to  each  dropped  on  the  manure,  and  covered — that  the 
crop  was  ploughed  and  hoed  three  times,  and  produced  forty 
bushels. — That  in  1020  the  same  piece  of  land  was  thus  managed: 
On  the  1st  of  May  the  hills  were  split — the  ground  harrowed, 
and  then  ploughed,  finishing  this  operation,  on  the  2d,  in  the 
forenoon ;  and  on  the  san>e  day  he  furrowed  it  deep  one  -cay 
anly,  the  furrows  three  feet  seven  inches  apart.  On  the  3d, 
fifteen  loads  of  barn  manure  were  strewed  along  the  furrows. 
On  the  4th,  the  corn  was  planted,  being  dropped  on  the  ma- 
nure, three  grains  in  a  place,  at  the  distance  of  18  or  20  inches; 
the  quantity  of  seed  used,  one  peck.  On  the  2d  of  June,  two 
hands  ploughed  two  furrows  between  the  rows,  and  hoed  it. 
On  the  20th,  two  hands  ploughed  one  furrow  between  the  rows, 
and  hoed  it ;  and  July  6th,  two  hands,  in  the  afternoon,  gave  it 
a  dressing  with  their  hoes. 

In  considering  this  case,  the  Trustees  are  of  opinion  that  Mr.. 
Day's  experiment  merits  special  notice  ;  and  they  award  to  him 
a  premium  of  eight  dollars.  ^ 


kXPERIMEJ^TS  OJSr  POTATOES. 

Salem^  Novemhtr  16, 1820. 

■ENTLEMEir, 

I  received  your  favour  of  the  1st  instant,  and  shall  now  en- 
deavour to  comply  with  your  request  respecting  the  crop  of 
potatoes  on  an  acre  of  Messrs.  Wait  and  Peirce's  laml,  in  Bridge 
street. 

1st.  As  io  "  the  quality  and  state  of  the  land  in  1819."  It  was 
grass  land,  and  was  broken  up  early  in  December. — Soil  black. 

2d.  "  The  produce  and  general  state  of  cultivation,  and  the 
quantity  and  kinds  of  manure  applied  to  it  in  that  year."  The 
produce  had  always  been  English  grass,  since  I  was  first  em- 
ployed upon  it,  which  was  nearly  thirteen  years  ago ;  and  it 
was  never  broken  up  during  that  time,  till  last  autumn.  There 
was  always  a  good  crop.     No  manure  was  put  on  it  in  1819. 

3d.  "  The  quantity  and  kinds  of  manure  applied  to  it  in 
1820."     Nine  cart  loads,  for  one  yoke  of  oxen,  of  barn  manure. 

4th.  "The  quantity  of  seed  used,  and  of  potatoes  the  sort," 
Twenty  bushels  of  common  white  potatoes. 

5th.  "  The  times  and  manner  of  sowing  and  planting,  weed- 
ing, tilling  and  harvesting  the  crop,  and  the  quantity  of  labour 
employed  in  its  production."  Four  days  labour  for  myself  with 
one  yoke  of  oxen  were  employed  in  ploughing  twice,  harrow- 
ing twice,  and  furrowing.  It  wae  planted  early  in  June,  in  hills 
three  feet  (large)  apart,  a  shovel  full  of  dung  (from  the  above 
nine  loads)  was  put  into  each  hole.  Three  days  labour  em- 
ployed in  planting.  It  was  weeded  the  latter  part  of  June  ;  la- 
bour three  days.  It  was  ploughed  between  the  hills  and  half- 
hilled  about  the  middle  of  July;  labour  one  and  a  half  days. 
Crop  harvested  about  the  1st  of  October  in  the  usual  way;  la- 
bour eight  days.  The  xschole  quantity  of  labour  employed  in 
the  production  of  the  crop,  (besides  that  of  the  oxen)  was  nine- 
teen and  a  half  days. 

6th.  "  The  amount  of  the  crop,  to  be  ascertained  by  meas' 
uring  or  weighing."  Three  hundred  and  oirjety-eijht  and  a  balF 
bushels  of  potatoes. 

S 


10 

In  addition  to  my  own  declaration  of  the  fore^oin{>  particu- 
lars, I  enclose  to  you  two  certificates  showing  the  measure  «f 
the  land  and  of  the  crop. 

With  great  respect,  I  am 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  DWINELL. 
To  the  gentlemen  composing  the  committee  on  corn  and  potatoes. 

I  hereby  certify  that  on  the  fourth  day  of  October,  at  the  re- 
quest of  Mr.  John  Dwinell,  1  measured  a  lot  of  land  by  Bridge 
street,  in  Salem,  owned  by  Messrs.  Wait  &  Peirce,  having 
thereon  potatoes,  and  staked  out  one  acre,  being  part  of  the 
same  lot.  JONATHAN  P.  SAUNDERS, 

Siuorn  Surveyor. 

Salem,  October,  1820. 

We  hereby  certify  that  the  quantity  of  potatoes  raised  this 
year  on  the  acre  of  Messrs.  Wait  &  Peirce's  land,  in  Bridge 
street,  which  was  measured  and  staked  out  by  Mr.  Jonathan  P. 
Saunders,  was  three  hundred  and  ninety-eight  and  a  half  bush- 
els. MOSES   PETINGIEL, 

HUGH  BOTES. 


Statement  of  the  cultivation  and  produce  of  an  acre  of  land  planted 
with  Potatoes  in  the  year  1820,  by  Jesse  Putnam. 

The  land  is  situated^n  the  eastern  side  of  IngersolFs  hill,  se 
called,  in  Danvers ;  the  soil  is  strong ;  it  is  very  full  of  small 
and  middling  sized  stones,  so  as  to  much  impede  the  ploughing;, 
and  a  considerable  number  of  stones  are  so  large  that  it  will  be 
necessary  to  blow  them  before  they  can  be  removed.  The 
land  is  moist  on  the  part  planted  with  potatoes. 

There  is  on  it  a  young  orchard  of  apple  trees,  of  different 
ages,  from  12  to  20  years;  and  there  are  other  apple  trees 
around  the  lot,  which  shaded  it  in  many  places.  The  principal 
object  in  ploughing  was  to  benefit  the  trees. 


il 

it  was  broken  up  in  1819;  it  was  then  exceedingly  rough,  and 
jbad  been  ploughed  but  once  for  more  than  thirty  years. 

In  1819  it  was  planted  with  corn  and  potatoes,  principally 
with  potatoes.  There  were  about  four  cords  of  manure  put 
upon  it.  It  was  hoed  the  usual  number  of  times,  but  on  account 
•f  being  very  rough,  it  was  but  imperfectly  subdued.  It  yield- 
«d  about  one  hundred  and  forty  bushels  of  potatoes,  and  about 
twenty  bushels  of  com. 

in  1820  the  hills  were  split  early  in  the  spring,  two  furrows 
in  a  row  ;  afterwards  it  was  ploughed  once  over.  The  time 
occupied  in  plongliing  was  one  day  with  three  cattle. 

It  was  then  harrowed  with  a  common  iron  tooth  harrow.  It 
was  furrowed  one  way,  the  rows  four  feet  apart ;  the  manure 
was  placed  in  hills  two  feet  apart,  and  the  potatoes  were  drop- 
ped on  the  manure,  one  potato  in  a  hill.  Some  of  the  potatoes 
were  cut  into  several  pieces  ;  but  those  that  were  not  cut 
yielded  the  best.  There  were  seven  and  a  half  cords  of  ma- 
nure put  upon  the  land,  six  cords  of  them  made  in  the  cellar 
under  the  barn ;  a  large  proportion  of  it  was  made  of  coarse 
Bieadow  hay  and  straw,  that  were  thrown  under  the  cattle  for 
them  to  lie  on. 

One  cord  and  a  half  of  the  manure  was  taken  from  a  slaugh- 
ter house  yard.  The  potatoes  planted  on  that  did  not  yield  so 
much  by  nearly  one  half. 

The  largest  proportion  of  the  potatoes  planted  on  this  lot 
were  of  the  red  kind,  the  remainder  the  common  white  potato, 
thirty-seven  bushels  were  planted  about  the  18th  of  May. 

The  potatoes  were  hoed  three  times  ;  twice  with  ploughing 
and  once  without ;  and  the  weeds  almost  entirely  destroyed. 
About  six  days  labour  were  spent  in  hoeing,  together  with  the 
time  taken  up  in  hoeing  round  the  apple  trees.  The  crop  was 
gathered  about  the  middle  of  October  ;  the  labour  of  gathering 
I  estimate  at  nearly  three  cents  per  bushel.  The  number  of 
days  work  I  cannot  accurately  ascertain,  on  account  of  their 
having  been  dug  at  different  times,  and  a  considerable  propor- 
tion by  small  boys.  As  to  the  quality  of  the  potatoes,  I  know 
#0  difference  between  the  value  of  the  red  and  white:  I  hav# 


12 

found  in  the  market  (he  price   to  be  the  same.     For  feeding 
cattle  and  hogs  the  red  is  the  most  valuable. 

The  whole  quantity  produced  on  the  lot  as  abore  described 
tvas  three  hundred  and  ninety-seven  bushels. 

JESSE  PUTNAM. 

JVovember  22,  1820. 
I  certify  that  I  was  present  and  saw  measured  all  the  pota- 
toes, raised  on  the  lot  of  land  above  described  by  Col.  Jesse 
Putnam,  and  that  there  were  three  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
bushels.  DANIEL  PRESTON. 

Danvers,  November  22,  1820. 
I  hereby  certify  that  I  surveyed  the  field  of  lapd  before  men- 
tioned, as  planted  with  potatoes  by  Col.  Jesse  Putnam,  on  the 
19th  day  of  October,  and  found  it  to  contain  one  acre  and  four 
poles.  Also,  that  there  is  now  growing  on  this  field  about  fifty 
young  apple  trees  ;  and  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  injury  arising 
to  the  crop,  from  the  shade  of  these  trees,  was  more  than  suf- 
ficient to  balance  the  extra  number  of  poles  above  one  acre. 

JNO.  W.  PROCTOR. 


No.  IV. 

OJV*  MAA^URES. 

The  committee  appointed  to  examine  and  report  on  the  ap-: 
plications  for  the  premium  offered  "  For  a  statement  of  the 
best  mode  and  means,  in  the  power  of  farmers  generally,  and 
drawn  from  the  claimant's  own  practice,  of  increasing  the  quan- 
tity and  improving  the  quality  of  manures  ;  of  their  effect* 
when  applied  to  the  land,  and  of  the  manner  of  applying  them," 
have  considered  the  two  statements  which  have  been  presented, 
one  by  Benj.  T.  Reed,  Esq.  the  other  by  Asa  Andrewsi,  Esq. 
^nd  submit  to  the  Trustees  the  following 


13 

REPORT. 

The  attention  of  Mr.  Reed  in  collecting  materials  for  hh 
compost  manure,  the  preparation  of  his  low  ground,  by  drain- 
ing, for  its  reception,  and  the  largeness  of  his  products,  being 
aboat  four  tons  of  hay  to  the  acre,  including  the  second  crop, 
prove  his  management  to  have  been  judicious.  But  the  com- 
mittee observe  nothing  in  the  process  which  was  not  already 
known,  though  too  little  practised.  Some  important  materials, 
also,  kelp,  rockweed  and  eel  grass  left  by  the  tide,  are  within 
the  reach  of  only  a  very  few  farmers,  living  on  the  sea-coast. 
Nevertheless,  as  the  example  of  such  care,  diligence  and  suc- 
cess, may  tend  to  excite  others  to  similar  exertions,  the  commit- 
tee submit  to  the  Trustees  the  expediency  of  publishing  Mr. 
Reed's  letter,  together  with  their  thanks  for  the  communi- 
cation. 

The  like  observations  the  committee  think  applicable  to 
Mr.  Andrews'  statement:  but  his  communication  being  of  great 
length,  an  abstract  of  it  is  herewith  presented  to  the  con8ide^^^♦ 

tion  of  the  trustees. 

T.  PICKERING,         ) 

DAVID  GRAY,  }  Committee. 

DANIEL  PUTNAM,) 

January  4,  1821. 


Marblehead,  October  4,  1820. 

«EAR   SIR, 

For  about  eighteen  or  twenty  years  past  I  have  made  a  prac- 
tice of  making  manure  from  every  article  of  rubbish  and  filth 
that  was  in  my  way  about  my  house,  wharf,  k,c. 

About  twenty-two  years  since,  a  piece  of  land  came  into  my 
possession,  containing  about  two  acres  of  tillage  and  five  acres 
of  low,  moist,  flat  land,  with  two  water  courses  passing  through 
it,  which  met  and  passed  off  under  a  town  bridge.  The  passage 
under  the  bridge  was  narrow  and  small,  which  often  caused 
from  two  to  four  or  five  acres  of  my  land  to  be  flowed  with 
water  for  several  days  together,  and  a  part  of  it  the  most  of  the 
year,  so  that  the  grass  was  very  poor,  some  years  hardly  worth 


u 

«BOwing  and  making,  and  was  often  injured  in  curing;,  by  its  faer 
ing-  so  wet,  and  for  one  or  two  years  wa3  overflowed  when 
partly  dry. 

I  kept  the  land  in  this  situation  two  or  three  years,  aod  found 
the  income  of  the  low  part  of  it  small  and  uncertain.  I  then 
commenced  ditching  it,  and  found  it  a  clay  and  sand  bottom, 
witlj  from  ten  to  tifteen  inches  of  soil.  I  first  made  the  ditch 
through  my  neighbour's  land  and  the  passage  under  the  town 
bridge  as  much  wider  and  deeper  as  circumstances  would  allow, 
which  then  let  off  the  water  so  as  to  prevent  my  land  being 
overflowed  either  in  summer  or  winter.  I  then  began  to  cart 
the  fine  dirt  and  earth  from  the  ditch  on  to  the  centre  of  the 
land,  to  make  it  the  highest ;  and  all  the  sods  and  coarse  parts 
that  would  not  spread  and  harrow  fine,  I  carried  to  my  manure 
heap. 

At  this  time  I  selected  a  spot  near  this  land,  and  also  near  my 
barn,  &c.  for  making  compost  manure.  It  was  on  the  south 
and  east  side,  near  the  bottom  of  a  hill.  I  ploughed  and  dug  off 
the  soil  &c.  and  made  a  basin  about  twenty  feet  wide  and  eighty 
feet  long,  and  about  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches  deep,  as  the  hard 
bottom  and  rocks  would  allow.  I  then  commenced  carting  all 
sods,  green  weeds,  &c.  from  the  ditches,  all  my  barn  manqre, 
dirt,  old  lime,  &.c.  that  ivas  about  my  house  and  wharf,  and  also, 
whatever  could  be  scraped  together,  with  kelp,  rockweed  and 
eel  grass,  &c.  that  was  left  by  the  tide,  as  time  and  opportunity 
admitted,  which  was  all  put  into  my  heap  and  occasionally  shov- 
eled together,  and  generally  at  the  end  of  the  year  was  shovel- 
ed all  over  and  mixed  once  or  twice  and  sometimes  oftener, 
and  thrown  into  a  ridge. 

In  this  manner  I  have  made  in  the  course  of  a  year,  from  fifty 
to  one  hundred  loads  of  good  manure,  and  some  years  more. 

I  have  generally  carted  it  on  as  late  in  the  spring  as  the  frost 
would  allow,  to  get  it  on  before  the  ground  was  too  soft,  but 
sometimes  I  have  put  it  on  in  July,  after  mowing,  when  the 
grass  had  got  considerably  started,  and  I  think  I  have  found  the 
most  benefit  from  my  manure  when  put  on  at  this  lime. 

For  the  first  ten  years  I  made  a  practice  of  sowing  grass  seed 
Ijretty  freely  on  the  manure  after  it  was  spread  ;  such  as  herd's 


15 

grass,  red  and  white  clover,  and  I  have  thought  a  great  part  of 
the  seed  took  root  and  increased  the  crop.  About  four  or  five 
years  after  this  1  weighed  and  sold  the  hay  for  one  year,  which 
amounted  to  about  four  tons  to  an  acre.  The  hay  has  boea 
weighed  about  two  or  three  different  seasons  since,  with  an  in- 
terval of  two  or  three  years,  and  I  think  it  has  averaged  over 
four  tons  per  acre  including  the  second  crop. 

For  the  last  fifteen  years  I  have  been  inaproving  this  tract 
and  some  other  mowing  and  tillage  land,  in  all  about  ten  acres, 
about  five  of  which  is  high,  and  has  been  ploughed  and  cultiva- 
ted occasionally  and  manured  from  the  above  mentioned  heap. 

In  the  spring  of  1819,  I  built  a  shed  adjoining  my  barn  over 
my  dung  heap  twenty  feet  wide  and  forty  feet  long,  (as  I 
could  not  have  a  cellar  conveniently)  and  closed  it  with  a  fence, 
to  which  I  have  since  chiefly  transferred  my  materials  for  ma- 
nure. 

.  This  shed  carries  off  much  of  the  snow  and  water  from  the 
»oof  of  the  barn,  and  protects  the  heap  from  the  sun,  wind  and 
rain,  and  leaves  it  much  stronger  and  better  ;  and  I  think  a 
cheap  shed  might  be  so  constructed  over  every  man's  barn  win- 
dows, where  they  throw  out  the  manure,  to  keep  the  droppings 
of  the  eaves,  sun,  wind,  &c.  from  injuring  it,  and  may  be  so 
constructed  as  to  be  more  convenient  and  less  labour  in  general 
than  a  cellar,  and  a  few  hogs  will  help  the  manure  as  well  a« 
collect  from  the  green  weeds,  &c.  a  part  of  their  food. 
With  respect  and  esteem. 

Your  very  humble  servant, 

BENJAMIN  T.  REEL\ 
Hon.  Timothy  Pickebing, 

Bresident  of  Essex  Agricultural  Society. 


Abitract  of  the  Communication  of  Asa  Aidreias,  Esq.  on  Manures. 

Mr.  Andrews  remarks,  that  the  barn  yard  should  be  proportion- 
ed to  the  farmer's  stock,  and  dishing  in  its  form.  He  considers 
©ne  year  to  be  necessary  in  going;  through  the  process  r«r  wiak- 


16 

iog  manure.  When  in  autnmn  the  yard  is  emptied  of  manare, 
he  would  fill  (bed)  it  with  the  vegetable  matter  or  &ub«tance 
of  salt  marsh,  or  fresh  meadows,  or  the  earth  from  low  places 
(such  as  are  found  on  many  farms,)  or  head-lands,  and  scrap- 
ings of  ditches;  and  over  this  bed  lay  straw,  ordinary  hay,  bot- 
tom stalks  of  corn,  thatch  and  weeds — any  or  ail  of  them,  as 
they  can  be  obtained.  And  from  the  time  the  stock  are  put  to 
hay,  until  they  are  turned  out  to  pasture  in  the  spring,  they 
should  not  go  beyond  the  limits  of  the  bam  yard  ;  within  which 
they  should  be  supplied  with  water.  [Then  their  dung  and 
urine  will  not  be  wasted  in  the  roads,  or  uselessly  scattered  over 
the  fields,  while  they  are  picking  up  a  pittance  of  miserable, 
sapless  fog,  or  dead  grass.]  The  cattle  are  to  be  kept  in  the 
bam  yard  at  night,  during  the  summer,  or  season  of  pasturing. 

When  in  autumn,  manure  is  carted  to  the  fields,  and  dropped 
io  heaps,  to  lie  until  the  ensuing  spring,  those  heaps  should  be 
eovered  with  earth,  to  prevent  loss  by  washing  rains  and  evapo- 
ration. 

In  applying  bis  manure,  in  the  spring,  Mr.  Andrews  mixes 
the  old  with  the  new,  for  grass-land  broken  up  for  planting  : 
but  if  the  land  is  already  in  a  state  of  tillage,  he  spreads  the 
new  manure  (winter  dung)  and  immediately  ploughs  it  io ; 
and  puts  the  old  manure  in  the  hills. 

Having  on  his  farm  a  quantity  of  wet  meadow  land,  producing 
only  coarse  grass,  he  ditched  and  drained  it ;  and  then,  without' 
ploughing,  spread  his  compost  manure  upon  it,  and  sowed 
herd's  grass  seed.  Under  this  management,  he  was  able  to  cut 
from  (wo  to  three  tons  of  good  hay  to  the  acre.  He  gives  thif 
land  a  top-dressing  of  compost  manure  every  other  year.  The 
soil  of  this  meadow  is  rich  earth  lying  on  a  clay  bottom.  Mr. 
Reed''5  productive  meadow  has  a  like  soil,  ten  to  fifteen  inche« 
deep,  lying  on  a  close  bottom  of  clay  mingled  with  sand. 

When  ilr.  Andrews  ploughs  his  grass  up-land,  he  puts  od 
eighteen  or  twenty  loads  of  manure  to  an  acre  :  and  harvest* 
from  each  acre  about  sixty  bushels  of  corn,  and  vegetables  io 
proportion. 

From  twenty  head  of  cattle,  two  horses,  and  his  swine,  with 
the  materials  collected  and  used  in  the  process,  as  above  de- 


17 

Jteribed,  he  makes  anDually  from  220  to  250  loads  of  manure, 
«ach  load  coutaiaiog  about  forty-five  bushels. 


THE  DMRY. 

To  the  Trustees  of  the  Estex  Agricultural  Soeiety. 

•ENTLEMEN, 

The  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  claims  for  the  pre- 
miums on  Butter, 

REPORT, 

That  Mr.  Joshua  Lorett  made  upon  his  farm,  in  Beverly, 
from  the  milk  of  five  cows,  four  hundred  and  four  pounds  of 
good  butter,  in  the  year  A.  D.  1820,  between  the  20th  day  of 
May  and  the  last  day  of  October. 

The  cows  were  kept  in  a  common  pasture  from  the  20th  of 
May  until  the  1st  of  October,  and  afterwards  in  fall  feed,  and 
were  fed  with  the  thinnings  of  half  an  acre  of  carrots,  and  the 
green  topstalks  of  an  acre  of  corn. 

The  quantity  of  butter  produced  from  these  cows,  between 
the  1st  day  of  May  and  the  last  day  of  N"ovember,  in  the  same 
year,  was  five  hundred  and  two  pounds  ;  and  there  was  made 
within  that  time,  from  the  milk  of  the  same  cows,  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  of  cheese. 

This  is  the  only  claim  which  has  been  made  for  a  premium 
on  butter.  Your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Lovett  is 
fairly  entitled  to  the  first  premium  on  the  article,  inasmuch  as 
the  object  of  this  society  is  to  encourage  judicious  eflforts  in  ag"- 
ticultural  improvements, 

THOMAS  STEPHENS, 

Chairman . 
Salem,  January  10,  1821. 


18 


OJV  THE  PLOUGHING  MATCH. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Ploughing  Match  at   Topsfield, 
October  5,  182U. 

Salem^  January  6,  1821. 
SIR, 

The  committee  a^eed  to  award  the  first  premium  to  the 
Hon.  Timothy  Pickering^,  on  account  of  the  superior  perform- 
ance and  superior  utility  of  his  plough.*  They  think  also  that 
great  credit  is  due  to  Gorham  Parsons,  Esq.  for  the  performance 
by  his  plough  from  his  Byfield  Farm,  and  award  to  him  the 
second  premium. 

In  behalf  of  the  Committee, 

PAUL  UPTON. 

To  Frederick  Howes,  Esq.  Secretary  7 
of  the  Essex  Agricultural  Society.    5 

*  This  plough  was  made  by  Henry  BurdeD,  at  Utica,  io  the 
State  of  New- York. 


19 


OFFERED   BT   THB 

ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY, 
FOR  182L 


The  Trustees  of  the  Essex  Agricultural  Sooietj,  to  encourage  improre- 
meots  in  the  hutbandry  of  the  couotj,  offer  the  following 

PREMIUMS. 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENTS. 

I.  J^AJyJlGEMEJVT  OF  ^  FARM. 

For  the  best  management  of  a  farm,  in  its  tillage,  mowing 
and  pasturage  :  the  quantity  of  land  appropriated  to  each — the 
manner  of  making,  increasing,  preserving  and  applying  manure — 
the  respective  crops  and  products — and  the  management  of  the 
live  stock — to  be  detailed  :  .         .  Thirty  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,  «        .         Twenty  Dollars. 

II.  GREEJy  CROPS  FOR  COWS. 

For  the  best  experiment  with  any  kinds  of  green  crops, 
(turnips  and  cabbages  excepted,  which  hurt  the  flavour  of  milk) 
by  which  the  same  cows,  not  fewer  than  four,  shall  be  kept  in 
milk,  with  the  least  diminution  of  the  quantity  yielded  while 
feeding  in  their  common  pastures  at  midsummer,  until  the  first 
of  October  ;  the  cows  to  be  full  fed  with  such  green  crops,  in 
addition  to  their  common  pasturage  :  Thirty  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,  .         .         .         Twenty  Dollars. 

C^  To  render  this  experiment  satisfactory,  the  milk  yielded 
at  midsummer  (June  21st)  must  be  weighed ;  and  afterwards 


ODce  in  eTery  tvro  weeks,  until  the  first  of  October,  and  regu- 
larly set  down.  Each  green  crop  used,  and  its  effect  on  the 
quantity  of  milk,  (and  on  its  quality  too,  if  there  be  any  manilest 
difTerence)  is  to  be  specified. 

ni.    IJyDMJy  CORJ^  AJSTD  OTHER  CROPS. 

For  the  greatest  crop  of  Indian  corn  on  one  acre— 
For  the  greatest  crop  of  potatoes  on  one  acre —  , 

For  the  greatest  crop  of  carrots  on  half  an  acre — 
For  the  greatest  crop  of  mangel  wurtzel  on  half  an  acre — 
For  the  greatest  crop  of  ruta  baga  on  half  an  acre — 
which  shall  severally  be  raised  with  the  least  expense  of  labour 
and  manure — for  each,  .         .         .         Fifteen  Dollars. 

For  the  second  greatest  crop  of  each,  and  for  each, 

Ten  Dollars. 
For  the  most  valuable  crop,  according  to  the  labour  and  ma- 
nure bestowed  upon  it,  which  shall  be  raised  on  one  acre, 
which  crop  shall  consist  of  Indian  corn,  and  potatoes,  and  bush 
beans,  or  any  two  of  them,  to  make  a  mixed  crop,  in  alternate 
rows  or  hills,  and  which  shall  be  of  value  at  least  equal  to  the 
best  crop  of  Indian  corn,  for  which  the  first  premium  shall  be 
awarded,  .....  Fifteen  Dollars. 

For  the  second  most  valuable  mixed  crop,  and  which  shall  be 
of  value  at  least  equal  to  the  second  best  crop  of  Indian  corn,  foe 
which  the  second  premium  shall  be  awarded,      Ten  Dollars. 
For  the  best  crop  of  barley  on  one  acre,          Ten  Dollars. 
For  the  second  best,         .         .         .  Eight  Dollars. 

IV.    SUM^C. 

To  the  person  who  shall  prove  most  satisfactorily,  from  ex-. 
periment,  on  not  less  than  half  an  acre,  that  either  species  of 
sumac,  (rhus)  an  article  extensively  used  by  the  manufacturers 
of  morocco  leather,  can  be  profitably  cultivated  in  this  county, 
the  proof  to  be  given  in  the  autumn  of  1823,     Thirty  Dollars 


21 

V.    THE  DAmr. 

For  the  greatest  quantity  of  gfood  butter,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  cows  producing  it,  (not  fewer  than  four)  made  on  any 
farm,  from  the  20th  of  May  to  the  6th  day  of  October, 

Fifteen  Dollars. 

For  the  second  greatest  quantity,  Ten  Dollars. 

VI.     CIDER. 

For  the  best  cider,  the  pure  juice  of  the  apple,  which  shall 
he  made  in  the  present  year,  not  less  than  four  barrels,  a  sam- 
ple of  it  not  less  than  ten  gallons,  to  be  produced  at  the  Cattle 

Show  in  1822, Ten  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,         ....  Five  Dollars. 

The  cider  to  be  kept  in  casks. 

LIVE  STOCK. 

For  the  best  pair  of  working  oxen,  not  less  than  five  years 
6ld,  which  shall  be  best  trained  for  labour,  be  quickest  in  step, 
and  in  foil  working  plight,         .         .         .      Fifteen  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,  .         .         .  Ten  Dollars. 

For  the  best  pair  of  fat  oxen,  which  ihall  be  fattened  at  (he 
least  expense,  ....  Twenty  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,  .         .  Ten  Dollars. 

For  the  best  bull,  not  less  than  one  year  old,  raised  in  or 
brought  into  the  county,  and  there  kept  four  months  prior  to 
the  tirst  of  October,  1820,  on  satisfactory  assurance  that  he  shaU 
he  kept  for  use  in  the  county  twelve  months  after  that  day, 

Fifteen  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,         ....        Ten  Dollars. 


For  the  third  best. 
For  the  best  milch  cow, 
For  the  second  best, 
For  the  third  best, 


Five  Dollars. 

Fifteen  Dollars. 

Ten  Dollars. 

Pive  Dollars, 


22 

For  the  best  boar,  not  exceeding  two  years,  and  not  less  than 
five  months  old, Eight  Dollars. 

For  (he  second  best,  .         .         .  Five  Dollars. 

For  the  best  breeding  sow,  .         .         Eight  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,  .         .         .  Five  Dollars. 

For  the  best  litter  of  weaned  pigs,  not  fewer  than  four,  nor 
less  than  two  months  old,  .         .         .  Six  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,  .        .        .         Four  Dollars. 

FOREST  TREES. 

For  the  best  plantation  of  white  oak  trees,  not  less  than  one 
acre,  nor  fewer  than  one  thousand  trees  per  acre,  to  be  raised 
from  the  acorn,  and  which  trees  shall  be  in  the  best  thriving 
State  on  the  first  of  September,  1823,  Thirty  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,  .         .         .         1'wenty  Dollars. 

For  the  third  brst,     ....  Fifteen  Dollars. 

For  the  best  plantations  of  locust  trees,  and  of  larch  trees, 
each  of  not  less  than  one  acre,  nor  fewer  than  one  thousand- 
trees  per  acre,  to  be  raised  from  the  seeds,  and  which  trees 
shall  be  in  the  best  thriving  state  on  the  first  of  September, 
1823,  for  each  and  either,     .         .         ,         Twenty  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,  .         .         .  Fifteen  Dollars. 

For  the  third  best,  .         .         .  Ten  Dollars. 

For  the  best  plantations  of  white  ash  trees  and  of  hickory 
trees  (the  latter  g'onfrally  called,  in  Massachusetts,  rvalnut) 
each  of  not  less  than  h^lf  an  acre,  nor  fewer  than  five  hundred 
trees  per  half  acre,  to  be  raised  from  the  nuts  and  seeds,  and 
■which  shall  be  in  the  best  thriving  state  on  the  first  of  Sej)tem- 
ber,  1323, — for  each  and  either,      .         .       Fifteen  Dollars. 

For  the  second  best,     ....  Ten  Dollars. 

For  the  third  best,        ....         Eight  Dollars. 

The  larch  tree  is  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  Maine,  and 
doubtless  of  New-Hampshire  and  Vermont.  It  is  generally 
known  by  the  name  of  hackmatack — perhaps  the  Indian  name. 
It  is  growing  in  various  parts  of  this  county,  commonly  in  low 
and  moist  grounds.  The  European  larch  is  plainly  different  in 
form,  and  more  beautiful;  its  leaves  are  of  a  deeper  green,  and 


23 

its  cones  three  or  four  times  as  large.  The  wood  of  both  is 
extremely  durable.  The  value  of  our  larch  from  Maiue  is 
already  well  known  to  some  of  our  ship-builders. 


To  entitle  a  claimant  to  any  premium  nnder  the  head  of 
Agricultural  Experiments,  the  following  particulars  must  be 
described  in  writing,  with  a  declaration  by  the  claimant  of  their 
truth:  viz. 

1.  The  quality  and  state  of  the  land  in  1820. 

2.  The  product  and  general  state  of  cultivation,  and  the 
•uantity  and  kinds  of  manure  applied  to  it  in  that  year^ 

3.  The  quantity  and  kinds  of  manure  which  shall  be  applied 

to  it  in  1821. 

4.  The  quantity  of  seed  used,  and  of  potatoes  the  sort. 

5.  The  times  and  manner  of  sowing  and  planting,  weeding, 
tilling  and  harvesting  the  crop,  and  the  quantity  of  labour  em- 
ployed in  its  production. 

6.  The  amount  of  the  crop,  to  be  ascertained  by  measuring 
OF  weighing. 

The  object  of  this  institution  being  to  promote  valuable  im- 
provements in  husbandry,  it  will  be  the  duty  of  the  Trustees  to 
withhold  premiums  in  cases  falling  short  of  that  object.  At  the 
same  time  they  will  be  disposed  to  encourage  every  judicious 
effort  to  make  improvements,  although  not  crowned  with  suc- 
cess ;  as  such  efforts  may  open  the  way  to  those  which  shall  be 
really  valuable. 


EXPLANATORY  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  Trustees  have  thought  it  expedient  to  subjoin  to  the 
list  of  premiums  the  following  explanatory  observations. 

Id  considering  how  best  to  apply  the  funds  of  the  society, 
they  were  naturally  led  to  inquire,  in  what  objects  of  husbandry 
are  improvements  most  wanted,  to  enlarge  our  products,  either 
by  superior  model  of  management  and  culture,  or  by  the  intro- 


24 

Auction  of  belter  domestic  animals,  and  of  plants  either  not  at 
all  or  not  e:eueraUy  cultivated  ? 

Id  old  farms,  sticb  as  all  are  in  Essex,  whose  native  fertilitj 
has  long  since  been  exhausted.  Manure  must  constitute  the  ci- 
aential  means  of  restoring  and  increasing  their  productive  pow- 
ers. Consequently,  to  increase  the  quantity  and  better  the 
quality  of  all  kinds  of  maniire,  within  the  reach  of  our  farmers, 
merits  the  first  attention,  as  the  basis  of  all  improvements. 
There  are  some  substances  not  comprehended  in  the  term  ma- 
nurc,  in  the  common  sense  of  that  word,  which  nevertheless, 
when  mixed  with  the  soil,  cause  it  to  yield  greater  crops  ;  such 
are  clay,  lime  and  other  calcarious  matters,  and  plaister  of 
Paris. 

But  however  abundant  may  be  manures,  their  most  effectual 
operation  depends  on  the  manner  of  using  them,  and  on  the 
condition  and  management  of  the  land  to  which  thej  are  ap- 
plied. 

The  design  of  our  institution  being  universal  improvements  in 
the  husbandry  of  the  county,  the  Trustees  are  of  opinion  that 
the  excitement  of  premiums  should  be  addressed,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, to  the  industrious  and  enterprising  occupants  of  small  a* 
well  as  of  large  farms  ;  and  be  extended,  in  the  progress  of  im- 
provement, to  every  article  demanding  the  increased  attentioa 
of  the  husbandman. 

Our  common  permanent  pastures  do  not  yield  a  sufficient  bite 
of  grass  for  cattle  earlier  than  the  2(Hh  of  May;  and  by  the 
middle  of  August — sooner,  if  the  season  be  dry — they  fail  to 
such  a  degree,  that  cows  rapidly  fall  off  in  their  milk,  unless 
the  deficiency  be  supplied  by  other  kinds  of  green  food.  What 
these  are,  within  the  power  of  every  industrious  farmer  to  pro- 
vide, it  is  hoped  will  be  satisfactorily  shown,  by  the  claimants 
for  the  premiums  offered  on  this  point. 

The  products  of  butter  will  be  decisive  of  two  important 
points — the  goodness  of  the  couss — and  the  sufficiency  of  their 
food ;  and  will  encourage  t'armers  to  improve  their  breeds  ol 
milch  cows,  by  purchase  or  by  raising  them,  and  to  provide 
ample  supplies  of  proper  food. 


25 

3Sy  an  act  of  the  legislature,  passed  on  the  20lh  of  Fohniary. 
1818,  "for  the  encouragement  of  agriculture  and  manufac- 
tures,'' it  is  made  the  "  duty  of  every  incorporated  agricultu- 
ral society,  to  offer,  annually,  such  premiums  and  encourage- 
ment, for  the  raising  and  preserving  oaks  and  other  forest  trees, 
in  such  manner,  ahd  on  such  terms,  as  to  their  discretion  shall 
seem  best  adapted  to  increase  and  perpetuate  an  adequate  sup- 
ply of  ship  fimbcr,  within  this  Commonwealth." 

In  compliance  wifli  this  requisition,  the  premiums  for  raising 
oaks  and  other  forest  trees  are  offered.  Small  plantations  only 
are  proposed,  because  the  subject,  in  America,  is  perfectly 
new ;  although  in  Europe  the  practice  of  planting  (the  term 
appropriated  in  England  to  the  raising  of  forest  trees)  has  long 
been  familiar.  There  the  seeds  are  sown  in  beds,  (like  seeds 
in  gardens)  thonce  removed  to  nurserie.=,  and  from  the  nurse- 
ries to  the  grounds  where  they  are  to  rise  into  trees.  The 
emolument  to  be  derived  from  planting,  for  the  production  of 
iimbcr^  is  at  such  a  distance,  probably  beyond  the  life  of  the 
planter,  as  to  deter  most  men  from  making  the  attempt :  for 
few,  very  few,  sre  actuated  by  the  generous  principle,  that 
"  It  will  do  somebody  good."  Yet,  as  men  generally  wish  to 
acquire  tind  leave  property  for  their  offspring,  it  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  in  any  district,  so  bare  of  timber  as  Essok, 
farmers  could  better  consult  the  permanent  interests  of  their 
rhildrcn,  than  hy  planting.  Grounds  so  rough  and  rocky  as  to 
he  unfit  for  tillage  can  in  no  way  be  so  profitably  improved. 
Nor,  indeed,  is  some  profit  from  planting  very  remote.  That 
forest  trees  may  rise  straight,  and  to  heights  proper  for  timber, 
they  must  be  set,  at  first,  many  times  as  thick  as  will  finally  fit 
■hem  for  timber.  Hence  their  thinnings  will,  in  a  few  years, 
furnish  useful  wood ;  white  oaks,  hickories,  ash,  and  perhaps 
the  larch,  for  hoops,  ajid  all  of  them,  at  larger  growths,  for 
fuel. 

These  hints  are  thrown  out  to  excite  reflection  on  this  very 
important  subject;  and  to  induce  at  least  the  ablest  farmers  to 
commence  the  work  of  planting.  The  Trustees  hope  there 
will  be  many  competitors  for  the  offered  premiums.  Any  who 
shall  propose  to  make  plantations,  will,  oa  their  application,  Ic 
4 


26 

icrnished  by  the  Trustees  with  the  best  information  they  caft 
obtain  on  the  subject;  unless  a  publication  (nliicb  they  coo- 
template)  should  supersede  the  necessity  of  individual  appli- 
cations. 

In  proposing  premiums  for  products  obtained  with  the  least 
expense  of  labour  and  manure,  the  Trustees  have  in  view  an 
improved  culture  of  our  farms,  by  the  exertion  of  superior 
skill  and  industry,  and  better  tillage  to  supply  the  place  of  more 
ample  manuring.  To  effect  this  better  tillage,  the  plants  cul- 
tivated must  be  set  at  distances  which  shall  admit  the  free  use 
of  the  plough. 

The  fattening  of  oxen  at  the  least  expense  will  of  course  in- 
clude the  shortest  time  :  for  it  is  well  known  that  all  domestic 
animals  lay  on  fat  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
the  food  they  are  disposed,  or  can  be  induced,  to  eat,  rchen  fed 
to  the  full.  Hence  so  to  feed  them  is  the  truest  economy,  when 
fatting  them  is  the  object. 

A  premium  is  offered  for  mixed  crops  of  com,  potatoes  and 
beans,  on  the  supposition  that  the  crop  of  corn  may  not  thereby 
be  greatly  diminished  in  quantity,  or  not  in  proportion  to  the 
value  of  the  potatoes  and  beans,  or  of  one  of  them.  The  corn 
plants  standing  far  apart  will  not  injuriously  shade  the  potatoes 
and  beans;  while  the  vines  of  these  will  cover  the  intervals  of 
the  corn  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun.  And  a  covering 
crop  is  deemed  less  hurtful  than  any  other — some  have  even 
been  thought  to  be  beneficial.  Dr.  Eliot,  of  Connecticut,  in  his 
fifth  Essay  on  Field  Husbandry,  published  so  long  ago  as  the 
year  1754,  thus  writes — "  Peas  are  found  to  make  land  mellow, 
to  enrich  and  so  well  to  prepare  it  for  wheat,  that  I  have 
many  times  known  farmers  to  invite  others  who  had  peas  to 
sow  their  land,  without  paying  any  rent,  merely  for  the  advan- 
tage it  would  be  to  their  crop  of  wheat."  The  Doctor  assigns 
the  following  reason.  "  Peas  make  a  shade  ;  where  the  land  is 
shaded,  the  air  will  be  condensed  ;  and,  consequently,  make 
room  for  the  rushing  in  of  more  air,  so  that  in  this  shade  there 
will  be  a  greater  lodgement  of.nitrous  salts,  [or  whatever  in  the 
air,  which  is  a  compound  substance,  tends  to  fertilize  the  earth} 
and  consequently  the  land  will  be  made  rich."     "The  air"'- 


27 

(says  another  writer)  is  the  chief  ioslrument  which  nature  makc^ 
use  of  to  enrich  the  earth." 

A  premium  is  offered  for  the  best  cider,  in  the  hope  that  many 
farmers  may  be  induced  to  make  that  a  pleasant  liquor  which  is 
commonly  harsh  and  sour.  Some  few  make  cider  which  is  smooth 
and  comparatively  sweet  to  the  taste.  With  equal  care,  all  may 
do  the  same.  Such  cider  would  not  only  be  more  pleasant, 
but  doubtless  more  wholesome,  and  it  would  lessen  the  con- 
sumption, and  ought  eventually  to  supersede  the  use,  of  spiritu- 
ous liquors.  Cider  is  generally  made  without  separating  the 
ripe  from  the  unripe,  apd  the  rotten  apples  from  the  sound  ones  ; 
and  no  measure  is  used  to  check  its  violent  fermentation.  Hence 
the  meagre  and  austere  cider  almost  universal  in  New-England. 
Were  grapes,  now  producing  the  finest  wines,  managed  as  we  do 
our  apples,  their  juice  would  yield  liquors  as  little  esteemed  as 
•ur  cider.  The  following  intimations  for  making  good  cider 
may  be  useful. 

1.  Let  the  apples  hang  on  the  trees  until  fully  ripe.  Such 
as  are  then  mellow  should  be  at  once  committed  to  the  mill  and 
press.  Such  as  are  hard  should  be  laid  in  heaps  not  more  than 
ten  or  twelve  inches  thick,*  until  they  become  mellow.  For 
apples  never  attain  their  highest  flavour  until  mellow. 

2.  Separate  the  rotten  from  the  sound  apples ;  for  the  latteT 
only  can  produce  good  cider.  Suppose  all  the  rotten  apples 
were  to  be  selected,  ground  and  pressed  by  themselves,  the 
juice  would  be  alike  unwholesome  and  disgusting,  and  be  thrown 
away.  Naw,  in  proportion  as  rotten  apples  are  ground  up  with 
the  sound  ones,  will  the  cider  be  injured. 

3.  Not  a  drop  of  water  should  be  put  to  the  cider,  not  even 
to  wet  the  straw  used  in  making  up  the  cheese.  For  it  will  re- 
quire the  whole  strength  of  the  pure  juice  to  preserve  it  ia 
easks  through  our  hot  summers,  in  the  coolest  cellars.  The 
straw  should  be  perfectly  clean  and  sweet. 

*  Many  of  (he  mo5t  fTperiencerl  cider  makers  in  New-England  hous9 
their  apples  before  grinding  by  laying  them  on  tiie  floor  of  the  cider  house, 
or  on  the  barn  floor,  taking  care  to  move  them  often,  to  prevent  thei? 
keating. 


'28 

4.  Of  Ibe  great  variety  of  apples  io  most  orchards,  those 
should  be  put  together  in  the  same  heaps  which  appear  alike 
mellow,  or  likely  to  become  mellow,  at  the  same  time. 

6.  Every  farmer  knows,  that  if  his  casks  are  musty,  or  have 
a  sour  smell,  they  will  impart  an  ill  flavour  to  the  cider  put  into 
them.  Such  casks  should  be  cleansed  with  boiling  water. 
Perhaps  few  have  adverted  to  the  propriety  of  thoroughly 
cleansing  the  cider  mills,  vats,  tubs,  and  other  utensils  ;  but  neat 
and  finely  flavoured  cider  is  not  to  be  expected  without  that 
precaution. 

6.  The  most  difficult  part  of  the  process  in  making  cider, 
is,  so  to  regulate  the  fermentation  as  to  preserve  a  sufficient 
degree  of  sweetness.  If  suffered  to  take  its  own  course,  the 
fermentation  will  continue  long,  and  the  cider  be  changed  inta 
a  harsh,  sour  and  pale  coloured  liquor.  To  prevent  this,  the 
cider  must  be  drawn  off:  and  the  time  of  doing  it  is,  when  the 
lighter  parts  of  the  pomace  have  risen  to  the  top,  forming  a 
brown  coat  or  scum  on  its  surface,  and  when  the  heavier  parts 
have  sunk  to  the  bottom.  This  state  of  the  cider  would  be 
clearly  manifested,  if  a  quantity  were  fermented  in  an  open 
vessel.  In  four  or  five,  or  more  days,  according  to  the  warmth 
or  coolness  of  the  air,  such  a  separation  of  the  parts  of  the  pom- 
ace would  appear.  Just  when  that  brown  coat  cracks  and  be- 
gins to  show  a  white  froth,  is  the  time  for  drawing  off  the  cider^ 
taking  care  that  no  portion  of  the  scum  or  lees  run  out  and  mix 
with  it.  After  this,  some  fermentation  may  again  take  place, 
and  require  a  second,  and  perhaps  a  third  racking.  If  the  cider 
be  fermented  in  casks,  these  should  want  a  gallon  or  two  of  be- 
ing full.  There  will  be  no  harm  done  by  exposing  so  much 
surface  to  the  air,  for  it  will  be  soon  covered  with  the  brown 
pomace  ;  and  th?n  too  the  precise  time  for  racking  will  be  seen. 
,  After  apples  are  ground,  the  pomace  should  remain  exposed 
to  the  air,  in  open  vats  or  tubs,  about  twenty-four  hours,  before 
it  is  made  into  the  cheese  to  be  pressed.  This  is  known  to 
give  not  only  a  better  colour,  but  to  add  to  the  sweetness  of  the 
cider. 

An  eminent  naturalist  and  practical  farmer,  in  the  greatest 
cider  county  in  England,  states,  that  when  the  rind  and  pulp  of 


29 

appFes  are  green,  the  cider  will  alwaja  be  tliin,  wrak  and  col- 
ourless; and  when  these  are  deeply  tinged  with  yellow,  it  will 
always  possess  colour,  with  either  strength  or  richness.  And 
again,  that  such  apples  as  are  yellow,  or  yellow  intenniKed  with 
red,  are  alone  capable  of  making  tine  cider. 

TIMOTHY  PICKERING,  PresidenU 
F.  HOWES,  Secretary. 
January  10,  1821. 


AJRBAJyGEMEJ>rTS 

FOR    THE 

CATTLE  SHOfV  AMD  PLOUGHLYG  MATCH, 

TOR    THE 

COUNTY  OF  ESSEX IN  THE  YEAR  1821. 

1.  It  is  expected  that  the  society,  at  their  annual  meeting 
at  Ipswich,  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  February  next,  will  deter- 
mine at  what  place  the  cattle  and  other  live  stock,  to  be  pre- 
sented for  premiums,  and  the  ploughing  match,  shall  be  exhi- 
bited. 

2.  The  Trustees  will  timely  appoint  the  necessary  commit- 
tees to  examine  and  report  on  the  claims  for  premiums,  and  as- 
semble with  them  at  the  place  of  exhibition,  on  Thursday,  the 
eleventh  day  of  October  next,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning ; 
at  which  time,  all  claims  for  premiums  must  be  presented  and 
entered.  The  committees  will  then  inspect  all  the  live  stock, 
and  any  other  articles  which  may  be  subjects  of  premiums,  and 
prepare  their  reports  thereon. 

3.  On  the  next  day,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  trial 
of  working  oxen  will  be  made  ;  and  be  followed,  at  eleven 
o'clock,  by  the  ploughing  match.  At  twelve  o'clock,  an  ad- 
dress, on  the  important  subjects  of  our  institution,  will  be  deliv- 
ered, by  a  member  of  the  society. 


/ 


'30 


4.  At  one  o'clock,  the  members  of  the  society  will  dine  to* 
gethcr  ;  and  at  two  o'clock,  the  reports  of  the  various  commit* 
tees  will  be  read  ;  and  the  premium?  awarded  be  immediately 
paid  to  the  successful  candidates. 

5.  The  live  stock  and  any  other  articles  which  may  be  ex- 
Ijibited  for  premiums,  on  T hursda\-,  must  remain  until  the  next 
day  at  noon,  to  be  viewed  bj'  the  members  of  the  society. 

G.  Decisions  on  claims  for  premiums  on  Indian  corn  and  root 
crops  must  necessarily  be  postponed,  because  these  may  not 
)te  generally  harvested  by  the  time  of  the  cattle  show.  But 
all  such  claims  must  bo  sent  to  the  secretary  of  the  society,  by 
the  twentieth  day  of  ]N"ovember  next,  sealed  up.  On  that  day 
the  papers  will  be  delivered  to  the  committee  appointed  to  ex- 
amine and  report  on  such  claims  ;  and  after  that  day  no  claims 
will  be  admitted.  The  premiums  awarded  will  be  immediately 
paid  by  the  treasurer. 


ox   THE 

RAISIXG  OF  FOREST  TREES. 

In  a  preceding  page,  the  common  English  practice  is  men- 
tioned of  sowing  the  seeds  in  beds,  removing  the  seeding  plants 
to  nurseries,  and  thence  to  the  ground  where  they  are  to  re- 
ceive their  full  growth.  But  some  English  writers  contend, 
that  Oaks  in  particular  attain  the  quickest  and  best  growths, 
when  they  spring  from  the  sown  acorns,  and  are  never  trans- 
planted :  because  then  the  young  trees  receive  no  check  from 
the  shortening  of  the  tap  root,  or  the  loss  of  the  fibrous  roots 
proceeding  from  it.  Where  the  land  to  be  planted  admits  of 
culture  with  the  plough,  this  doubtless  is  the  most  eligible 
mode.  But  the  young  oaks  will  not  generally  rise  more  thaa 
five  or  six  inches  the  first  year,  although  the  tap  root  may  des- 
cend to  the  depth  of  from  one  to  two  feet.  The  second  year's 
growth  will  also  be  small;  after  which,  the  removal  of  the  plants 


31 

to  the  nursery  slioulJ  not  be  dclayeil.  But  this  removal  may 
be  dispensed  witb,  by  cutting  off  the  tap  roots  with  a  long  spade 
ground  to  a  sharp  edge,  and  thrust,  in  a  sloping  direction,  under 
the  plants  in  the  rows,  as  deep  as  possible,  so  as  to  preserve, 
eight  or  ten  inches  of  the  tap  root  This  is  sometimes  practis- 
ed in  England  ;  and,  it  is  presumed,  will  not  materially  check 
the  growth  of  the  trees.  For  this  operation,  it  is  obvious  that 
the  seed-beds  must  be  a  fine  loam,  free  from  stones  or  graveL 

In  whatever  way  the  plaotation  shall  be  made,  the  ground 
in  which  the  acorns  are  sown  should  be  in  a  state  of  perfect 
tillage,  and  well  cleaned  by  some  tillage  crop  or  crops,  admit- 
ting the  plough  and  hoe,  and  where  no  weeds  have  been  suffer- 
ed to  ripen  their  seeds  ;  which  will  save  much  labour  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  young  plants,  especially  in  the  first  and  second 
years.  The  deeper  the  ground  is  ploughed  or  dug  for  receiv- 
ing the  seed,  whether  in  the  nursery  beds  or  in  the  field,  the 
better  the  trees  will  thrive  ;  especially  by  being  more  secure 
from  the  effects  of  drought.  The  acorns  should  be  collected 
from  the  most  thrifty  trees,  sown  in  drills,  or  channels,  about 
two  inches  deep,  and  covered,  with  some  pressure  of  the  earth 
upon  them.  If  dropped  in  a  seed  bed,  the  acorns  should  be  i]i<r- 
tant  not  more  than  an  inch  and  a  half,  or  two  inches,  in  the 
drill.  But  if  planted  in  the  tield  where  it  is  intended  the  trees 
should  grow  without  any  removal,  it  may  be  an  eligible  way 
(after  the  ground  has  been  brought  into  a  fine  tilth,  and  harrow- 
ed smooth)  to  mark  it  out  by  cross  furrows,  distant  four  feefc 
from  each  other,  and  to  plant  four  or  five,  or  more,  acorns  at 
the  intersections  of  the  furrows.  The  plantation  may  then  be 
cultivated  with  as  much  ease  as  a  field  of  Indian  corn.  And 
such  cultivation  is  essential,  for  preserving  the  oaklings  from 
being  smothered  by  weeds,  and  for  encouraging  their  grcwtli. 
Every  farmer  knows  the  effect  of  tillage  on  young  apple  ov- 
cbards.  Nuts  for  a  plantation  of  hickory  (walnut)  may  be 
planted  in  the  same  manner  as  acorns  :  and  both  must  be  col- 
lected in  autumn,  and  then  planted,  or  preserved  in  dry  san«i 
until  the  succeeding  spring.  After  two  years  growth,  all  but 
one,  and  that  the  best,  of  the  younj  trees  should  he  rcweved 
from  each  spot. 


52 

l*he  seeds  of  the  locnst  tree  must  be  gathered  in  autdraoj 
and  preserved  till  the  ensuing  spring,  and  sown  at  the  time  of 
planting  early  beans.  Every  locust  seed  is  a  small  bean,  and  if 
sown  on  fresh^  moist  earth,  will  vegetate  as  surely  as  a  bean, 
and  grow,  in  a  tolerable  soil,  from  two  to  four  feet  high  the 
first  year.  Doubtless  it  will  be  best  to  sow  these,  at  once,  in 
the  field  where  they  are  finally  to  grow,  as  above  suggested 
for  acorns  :  pulling  up,  at  the  end  of  one  year,  all  but  one,  the 
most  thrifty,  in  each  spot.  The  supernumeraries,  thus  extract- 
ed, may  be  set  out  to  form  an  additional  plantation. 

Larch  seeds  are  found  under  the  shells  or  scales  of  the  cones. 
These  must  be  gathered  early  in  March  :  for  if  suffered  to 
remain  longer  on  the  trees,  and  warm  and  dry  weather  succeed, 
the  scales  will  rise,  and  the  seeds  fall  out.  If  beds  be  prepared 
for  larch  seeds,  and  the  cones  spread  over  them,  (the  cones 
may  touch  one  another)  the  scales  will  rise,  and  upon  removing 
the  cones  with  a  fine  toothed  rake,  the  seeds  will  fall  out. 
These  may  then  be  covered  with  fine  earth,  from  a  quarter  to 
half  an  inch  deep.  As  the  larch  trees,  growing  iu  this  country, 
are  found  in  low  and  moist  grounds,  it  is  probable  that  the  seed? 
will  vegetate  with  more  certainty  in  beds  prepared  of  such  a 
soil.  After  the  cones  have  been  raked  and  picked  off  of  the 
first  bed,  they  may  be  spread  over  a  second,  and  furnish  an  ade- 
quate supply  of  seed.  By  moving  a  few  in  the  first  bed,  it 
will  be  seen  whether  a  sufficiency  of  seeds  bare  dropped  out. 
A  woek,  ten  days,  or  two  weeks,  according  to  the  weather, 
may  be  required  for  the  discharge  of  the  seeds,  on  each  bed. 

Trees  growing  four  feet  apart  every  way,  will  give  2722  to 
an  acre  :  and  if  so  great  a  number  grow  at  that  distance,  they 
will  rise  with  straighter,  cleaner  stems.  Their  thinnings  from 
»ime  to  time  will  turn  to  good  account. 


AN 


5/'Jili& 


'41$^^^^ 


TO   THE 


ESSEX  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY, 


AT  THEIR 


FIRST  CATTLE  SHOW. 


AT 


TOPSFIELD, 


OCT.  5,  1820. 


BY  ANDREW  NICHOLS,  ESQ. 


-Venerate  the  plough, 


"  And  o''er  your  hills,  and  long  with  drawing  vales, 

"  Let  Autumn  spread  his  treasures  td  the  sun, 

''  I-uicuriant  and  uuboundud."  TnoMSo?f. 


SALEM : 

PRt^TTEO   BY   JOHy    O*.    SCSBIXS. 

182!. 


ADDRESS. 


AaRicvLTURE,  the  most  ancient,  the  most  necessary  of  Arts, 
has  engaged  the  attention  of  the  strongest  and  most  enlightened 
minds,  and  employed  the  pen  of  the  ablest  of  writers  ;  and  still 
the  subject  has  never  been,  can  never  be,  exhausted.  The  in- 
terests of  Agriculturalists  are  inseparable  from  the  permanent 
prosperity  of  every  nation,  and  closely  connected  with  the  wel- 
fare of  every  individual  of  the  human  race.  On  Agriculture  all 
are  directly  or  indirectly  dependent  for  the  means  of  subsistence, 
and  towards  its  improvement  all  should  be  willing  to  contribute. 
This  consideration  alone  has  induced  me  to  appear  before  you. 
Yet  it  is  with  no  small  degree  of  diffidence,  that  1  presume  to 
address  this  numerous  and  highly  respectable  audience,  com- 
posed as  it  is  of  many,  whose  scientific  and  literary  acquirements 
are  far  superior  to  my  own,  and  of  a  more  numerous  collection 
of  real  farmers,  who  I  well  know  place  but  little  confidence  in 
the  essays  of  professional  men,  on  a  subject  with  which  they 
may  be  supposed  to  have  little,  if  any,  practical  acquaintance. 
I  was  however  bred  a  farmer,  and  have  been  personally  ac- 
quainted with  the  toils,  pleasures,  hopes  and  disappointments,  of 
an  agricultural  life.  I  feel  a  strong  attachment  to  the  occupa- 
tion of  my  ancestors,  who  from  the  first  settlement  of  this  coun- 
try have  tilled  with  their  own  hands  the  soil  of  Essex.  A  regu- 
lar course  of  medical  studies  embraces  much  that  tends  to 
explain  the  principles  of  fertility  in  soils,  the  phenomena  of 
regetation,  the  philosophy  of  Agriculture.  Influenced  by  these 
considerations,  and  confiding  in  your  candour  to  excuse  uninten- 
tional errors,  1  shall  without  further  apology  offer  such  remarks 
as  seem  to  me  worthy  your  attention  on  this  occasion. 

Industry  is  a  most  ennobling  trait  in  the  character  of  any  class 
of  men.     In  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  it  is  absolutely  necessary 


36 

to  succpss.  But  industry  is  not  the  only  virtue,  that  the  cultira- 
tion  of  earth  promotes.  Piety,  sobriety  of  conduct,  simplicity 
of  manners,  hospitality,  friendship,  and  conjugal  love,  are  more 
frequently  found  in  all  their  purity  among  practical  farmers  than 
among  other  orders  of  men.  For  this  there  are  natural  causes. 
The  husbandman's  employment  in  the  open  field,  where  all  is 
sublime,  beautiful  and  harmonious  around  him,  exercises  both 
the  body  and  mind  in  a  manner  most  conducive  to  health  and 
happiness.  While  sowing  his  grain,  and  nurturing  his  tender 
plants,  he  must  be  stupid  indeed  not  to  feel  his  dependence  on 
the  beneficent  Parent  of  Nature,  for  the  warnaing  sun  and  re- 
freshing showers,  without  which  not  a  blade  of  grass  can  be 
made  to  vegetate,  or  an  ear  of  corn  be  brought  to  maturity. 
"  He  is  independent  of  popular  favour,  and  exempt  from  those 
corroding  cares,  those  mortifications,  disappointments,  jealous- 
ies and  responsibilities,  which  plant  thorns  in  the  pillow  of  the 
professional  man.  The  sources  of  ill  will  and  secret  envy  among 
other  professions,  where  one  man''s  loss  is  another^'s  gain,  have 
no  existence  among  men  employed  in  Agriculture."  Free  from 
the  anxiety  attendant  on  the  risks  iaseparable  from  mercantile 
engagements,  he  unites  his  fortunes  with  her's  on  whom  were 
placed  his  earliest,  his  tenderest,  affections ;  and  sees,  without 
regret,  an  increasing  family,  looking  to  him  for  bread,  instruc- 
tion, and  protection. 

An  Agricultural  life  is  the  natural  condition  of  man.  He  was 
placed  in  the  garden  of  Eden  to  dress  and  to  keep  it.  When 
driven  from  paradise,  he  was  commanded  to  till  the  ground  from 
which  he  was  taken.  And  wherever  the  great  body  of  the  peo- 
ple have  yielded  a  willing  obedience  to  this  command,  and  not 
sought  to  supply  thejr  wants  by  other  inventions,  the  earth  has 
ever  yielded  them  the  necessaries  of  life  in  abundance.  It  is 
astonishing  to  reflect  on  the  immense  population  which  a  small 
territory  well  cultivated  will  sustain.  "  Egypt  once  contained 
forty  millions  of  inhabitants,  and  was  then  able  to  supply  sur- 
rounding nations  with  corn.  A  few  years  since,  when  the  same 
territory  contained  only  three  millions,  a  French  array  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  men  foand  it  diSicult  there  to  subsist.  Sicily, 
when  it  contained  in  the  small  territory  of  Syracuse  alone  four 


37 

times  the  amount  of  the  present  population  of  the  whole  island, 
was  deemed  an  inexhaustible  store-house  of  corn  for  others." 
These  examples  show,  that  the  earth  is  productive  in  proportion 
to  the  labour  judiciously  bestowed  upon  it.  They  are  cited 
from  times  when  that  more  productive  vegetable,  the  potato, 
which  now  furnishes  almost  the  whole  food  of  thousands  of 
families  in  Great-Britain,  was  unknown.  Is  it  therefore  too 
much  to  suppose,  that  when  properly  managed  "  every  rood  of 
ground  will  maintain  its  man"  1 

U  the  soil  can  be  rendered  so  productive,  it  must  be  obvious, 
that  the  agriculture  of  this  county  is  susceptible  of  great  im- 
provement. 

What  are  the  causes  that  have  hitherto  retarded  this  improve- 
ment ?  Among  these,  are,  I  conceive,  the  prejudices  that  exist 
among  difierent  classes  of  men  engaged  in  agriculture.  Specu- 
lative and  practical  farmers  have  ever  been  at  variance.  By  spec- 
ulative farmers  I  mean  those  who  have  engaged  in  husbandry, 
either  for  amusement  or  from  patriotic  motives,  without  depend- 
ing on  it  for  the  means  of  subsistence.  The  former  are  gener- 
ally too  fond  of  pursuing  visionary  schemes,  and  the  latter  fre- 
quently too  much  wedded  to  old  practices  to  adopt  the  most  obvi- 
ous improvements.  The  speculative  is  apt  to  consider  the  mere 
practical  farmer  as  a  narrow-minded,  obstinate,  perverse  man, 
who  is  determined  to  plod  on  in  the  path  his  forefathers  had 
trodden  ;  and  the  practical  farmer  in  his  turn  laughs  at  the  other 
as  a  visionary,  who,  mistaking  dreams  for  realities,  pursues  plans 
that  lead  to  disappointment  and  ruin. 

These  prejudices  are  generally  carried  too  far,  and  are  much 
to  be  regretted,  although  there  is  frequently  some  foundation 
for  them  on  both  sides.  They  too  often  prevent  that  social  and 
free  intercourse  which  would  prove  highly  advantageous  to  both. 
The  practical  farmer,  who  has  had  but  little  opportunity  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  knowledge  derived  from  books,  or  with 
practices,  that  have  been  found  most  successful  in  other  places, 
would  derive  many  useful  hints  from  the  speculative  farmer, 
who  might  often  be  saved  much  useless  expense  by  the  experi- 
ence and  observation  of  the  other.  In  tins  society  both  these 
classes  of  agricult'irali«ts  are  uniting  their  efforts.     May  we  not 


38 

confidenMy  hope  that  the  result  will  be  the  extinction  of  thes* 
prejudices,  and  the  ra[)id  dififusion  of  useful  knowledge,  among 
all  classes  of  agriculturalists  ? 

Another  cause,  which  has  hitherto  retarded  inaprovements  ia 
agriculture,  is  the  low  estimation  in  which  the  employment  has 
been  held.  "  In  the  most  flourishing  and  happy  era  of  the  Ro- 
man Republic,  the  cultivators  of  the  soil  were  esteemed  a  supe- 
rior class  to  merchants  and  manufacturers."  This  was  probably 
one  cause  of  the  great  success  in  agriculture,  which  at  that  time 
enabled  "  the  small  vale  of  Campania  alone  (not  one  twentieth  of 
the  whole)  to  furnish  subsistence  for  more  people  than  the 
whole  inhabitants  of  Italy  now  amount  to."  It  is  not  however 
good  policy  for  any  nation  to  make  invidious  distinctions  among 
the  several  classes  of  her  citizens.  The  honest  and  indu^triout 
professional  man,  artist,  mechanic,  merchant,  or  manufacturer, 
deserves  well  of  his  country. 

*'  Honour  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise,  ^ 

"  Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honour  lies." 

But  if  it  be  a  fact  that  husbandry  has  been,  in  this  country, 
by  many,  considered  a  mean  or  servile  employment,  it  be- 
comes the  duty  of  every  good  citizen  to  endeavour  to  raise  its 
reputation  to  the  rank  it  ought  to  hold,  a  rank  inferior  to  none 
in  society.  Nothing  would  have  a  more  direct  tendency  to 
improve  agriculture,  and  raise  its  reputation,  than  a  more  gener- 
al attention  among  farmers  to  those  sciences,  that  explain  many 
of  its  principles  and  operations.  '•  Knowledge  is  power."  The 
man,  who  understands  philosophically  the  operations  in  which 
he  is  employed,  will  perform  them  with  much  greater  ease,  than 
one  who  has  only  a  mechanical  acquaintance  with  them.  It  is 
granted  that  practice  alone  is  much  better  than  theory  without 
practice,  but  it  is  the  union  of  both  in  the  same  individual  that 
constitutes  the  most  accomplished  and  successful  operator. 

The  opinion  has  been  too  prevalent  among  farmers,  that  the 
only  learning  beneficial  to  those,  who  are  to  get  their  living  by 
cultivating  the  soil,  is  to  be  able  to  read  well,  write  well,  and 
answer  with  facility  questions  in  the  most  useful  rules  in  arith- 
rcetic.     It  is  acknowledged,  that  with  these  acquisitions  odIjt 


39 

thete  are  many  Tvho  hare  distinguished  themselves  both  as  agrt- 
culturali»t!i  and  citizens  But  it  does  uot  follow  that  the  same 
men  would  not  have  made  greater  improvements  in  husbandry, 
and  extended  their  usefulness  as  citizens,  if  they  had  also  studied 
more  thoroughly  the  English  language,  the  mathematical  scien- 
ces, geography,  astronomy,  chemistry,  natural  philosophy,  and 
the  several  branches  of  natural  history.  These  and  many  other 
branches  of  science  and  literature  enlarge  the  views,  strengthen 
the  mind,  and  greatly  multiply  objects  which  afford  pleasing  re- 
flections. They  are  therefore  peculiarly  calculated  to  beguile 
the  cares,  and  increase  the  happiness,  of  labouring  men.  The 
mind  of  the  naturalist,  while  at  work  in  the  field,  is  continually 
feasted  by  the  operations  of  nature  going  on  around  him.  In 
every  cloud  that  passes  over  his  head,  in  every  fossil  turned  up 
by  his  plough,  in  every  insect  that  crawls  the  earth,  in  eve- 
ry plant  that  vegetates  or  blossoms,  he  reads  a  story  contain- 
ing truths  the  most  interesting,  beauties  that  never  cease  to 
please,  and  sublimity  that  fills  the  mind  with  admiration.  The 
mathematical  sciences,  natural  philosophy,  and  chemistry,  may 
be  so  applied  to  the  art  of  husbandry,  as  to  render  its  principles 
less  mysterious,  its  operations  more  easy,  and  success  more 
certain. 

It  will  perhaps  be  objected,  that  such  studies  tend  to  destroy 
that  rehsh  for  manual  labour,  which  is  essentially  necessary  to 
success  in  agriculture,  for 

"  lie,  who  by  the  plough  would  thrive, 
"  Himself  must  either  hold  or  drive." 

If  this  be  the  case,  it  is  owing  not  to  the  knowledge  acquired, 
but  to  ambitious  and  erroneous  notions  at  the  same  time  im- 
bibed. These  notions  are  derived  either  from  the  injudicious 
complaints,  so  frequently  uttered  by  farmers  themselves,  in 
presence  of  their  children,  of  the  hardships  of  their  lot  when 
contrasted  with  the  supposed  ease  and  rapid  acquisition  of 
riches  and  honours  by  professional  and  mercantile  men,  or  from 
the  conversation  and  enthusiastic  expectations  of  those  devoted 
to  such  pui-suits  with  whom  they  associate  at  academies  and 
other  literary  ioititutioni.     If,  in?tead  of  suck  erroneous  notions. 


40 

yoQth  were  more  generally  taaght,  that  tbe  colti'vation  of  the 
earth  is  a  nnhle  employment — that  the  farmers  loose  home- 
made working:  dress,  it  being  particularly  appropriate  to  his 
employment,  is  as  respectahle  as  the  more  costly  apparel  worn 
by  those  engaged  in  less  laborious  employments,  and  much  more 
so  than  the  fantastic  trappings  of  modern  dandies,  whether  they 
are  seen  spending  their  time  in  most  fatiguing  idleness,  employ- 
ed behind  the  counter,  or  crowding  the  avenues  that  lead  to 
either  of  the  learned  professions  ;  if  proper  pains  were  taken 
to  convince  them,  that,  although  in  agricultural  pursuits  they 
cannot  calculate  on  becoming  rich,  industry  and  frueality  will 
ensure  them  competence  ;  while,  of  those  who  devote  them- 
selves to  professional  or  mercantile  employments,  some  may,  by 
industry,  the  possession  of  talents  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  pur- 
pose, or  good  fortune,  become  honourably  and  honestly  wealthy ; 
but  many  will  either  be  reduced  to  want,  or  owe  their  prosperi- 
ty to  means  at  which  the  honest  farmer  would  revolt,  the  arts 
of  quackery^  chicanery,  or  STvindling  !  Then  we  should  oftener 
see  the  scholar  return  to  the  plough,  apply  his  science  to  the 
improvement  of  his  favourite  art,  raise  the  reputation  of  agricul- 
ture, preserve  the  purity  of  his  morals,  and  become  in  fine  a 
man  to  whom  in  times  of  danger  or  distress  the  public  might 
look  for  counsel  and  assistance,  as  to  a  patriot  of  sound  judgment, 
without  partiality,  without  fear,  and  without  reproach  It  is 
not  the  labours  and  privations  of  an  agricultural  life,  that  deter 
literary  and  scientific  men  from  engaging  in  it ;  but  the  belief, 
that  it  would  be  voluntarily  sacrificing  all  claims  to  distinction, 
and  burying  their  talents  in  the  shades  of  obscurity.  For  such 
men  readily  engage  in  military  services,  a  seafaring  life,  or  the 
most  fatiguing  travels,  with  the  utmost  ardoar,  patience,  and  per- 
severance. 

The  present  enlightened  governor  of  the  state  of  New-York 
has  hinted,  in  an  address  on  this  subject,  the  establishment  of 
agricultural  schools  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  art  of 
husbandry.  And,  is  it  altogether  visionary  to  suppose,  that  the 
best  interests  of  this  county  would  be  promoted  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  agricultural  academy,  where  such  studies,  as  are 
best  calculated  to  make  accomplished  and  scientific  farmer! 


41 

Riight  be  advantageously  pursued,  and  (he  students  required  bV 
turns  to  labour  one  or  two  days  or  half  days  every  week,  with 
an  experienced  husbandman  and  gardener,  who  should  be  select- 
ed to  manage  a  farm  connected  with  the  institution.  Such  a 
seminary,  well  endowed  and  properly  managed,  would  furnish 
more  useful  instructers  for  town  schools  in  agricultural  districts 
than  can  now  be  obtained.  It  would  answer  all  the  purposes 
of  a  pattern-farm,  rapidly  disseminate  knowledge  of  the  greatest 
improvements  in  the  art,  and  produce  the  most  accomplished 
farmers  and  useful  citizens. 

Another  cause  of  the  slow  progress  that  has  been  made  in  the 
art  of  husbandry  is  the  small  profit  which  farmers  generally  re- 
alize from  their  labours.  This  has  hitherto  induced  many  of 
our  most  enterprising  citizens  to  seek  more  lucrative  business, 
and  tended  to  discourage  those  who  have  continued  to  cultivate 
the  soil.  To  render  agriculture,  therefore,  more  profitable,  as 
Tveil  as  more  honourable,  is  a  primary  object  wiih  agricultural 
societies.  How  can  this  be  accomplished  ?  By  practising, 
among  other  things,  on  the  following  fundamental  principles  ot 
husbandry. 

1.  Cultivate  no  more  land  than  can  be  thoroughly  plough- 
ed, well  manured  at  once,  and  kept  free  from  weeds. 

2.  jN'ever  keep  land  many  years  under  the  same  crops. 

3.  Never  lay  land  into  grass,  except  it  be  well  prepared, 
and  in  a  very  rich  condition. 

Suppose  for  example  you  possess  a  field  of  arable  land,  con- 
taining eight  acres;  how  can  it  be  most  advantageously  man- 
aged? According  to  the  author  who  lays  down  the  foregoing 
rules,  plough  up  annually,  in  autumn,  two  acre'.  Let  it  he 
cross  ploughed,  harrowed,  highly  manured,  planted  Avith  corn  or 
potatoes,  and  well  tended  the  following  spring  and  summer.  In 
the  spring  next  following,  plough  it  twice,  and  sow  it  with  grain 
and  clover.  In  this  way,  by  keeping  the  land  in  rotation,  one 
year  under  Indian  corn  or  potatoes,  one  year  under  English 
grain,  and  two  years  under  clover,  it  would  produce  the  most 
abundant  crops,  and  be  contiuually  growing  better,  as  the  large 
tap  roots  of  the  clover  especially  would  greatly  ameliorate  and 
-enrich  the  soil.     Af'ter  going  through  this  routine  ««?voj'3l  time,?. 

G 


4± 

the  land  would  be  in  an  excellent  condition  to  lay  into  grass^ 
thus  to  remain  till  another  portion  of  laad  could  be  treated  in 
the  same  manner.  Keeping  in  view  these  principles,  every 
farmer  can  readily  apply  them  to  other  crops,  which  it  is  there- 
lore  unnecessary  to  mention. 

On  mature  reflection,  I  presume  it  must  be  generally  admit- 
ted that  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  frequent  errors  in  the 
management  of  farms  in  Essex,  is  dissipating  both  labour  and 
manure,  by  attempting  to  cultivate  too  much  ground. 

By  improved  management,  the  same  quantity  of  produce  as  is 
now  obtained  might  be  raised,  with  the  same  manure,  on  half 
the  land,  with  two  thirds  the  labour.  One  half  of  the  land  and 
one  third  of  the  labour  might  therefore  be  devoted  to  other 
crops,  the  whole  of  which  vt^ould  be  clear  gain. 

There  is  a  specious  objection  to  improvements  in  agriculture, 
often  suggested  by  practical  farmers,  namely,  "  that  in  the 
same  ratio  that  crops  are  increased,  their  value  is  diminished, 
for  the  market  is  already  abundantly  supplied."  Admitting  this 
to  be  the  case,  are  there  no  other  fruits,  esculent  vegetables, 
and  raw  materials  for  exportation  or  domestic  manufacture,  other 
than  those  which  are  now  generally  cultivated,  which  our  soil 
and  climate  will  produce,  and  towards  which  the  attention  oi 
farmers  may  be  profitably  directed  ? 

In  taking  a  survey  of  the  county  of  Essex,  it  must  I  think  be 
admitted,  that  we  are  deplorably  deficient  in  gardening,  and  in- 
the  cultivation  of  fruits  which  are  justly  ranked  among  the  most 
elegant  comforts  of  life.  With  very  little  expense  of  time  and 
labour,  it  is  in  the  power  of  every  owner  of  a  farm  to  surround 
liis  habitation  with  the  most  delicious  fruits,  to  furnish  a  rich 
desert  for  his  table  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  likewise  send 
large  quantities  to  market.  In  many  places  considerable  atten- 
tion has  been  paid  to  apple  trees,  and  some  flourishing  young 
orchards  occasionally  greet  the  eye.  But  we  more  frequently 
see  others  in  a  state  of  rapid  decay.  How  often,  even  among 
farmers,  ire  found  families  destitute  of  apples  fit  for  the  table, 
or  culinary  purposes,  and  which,  when  assailed  by  sickness,  are 
obliged  to  send  to  some  more  provident  neighbour  for  a  supply  ! 
Pear  trees  are  very  generally  neglected ;  ar)d  the  greater  part 


43 

of  good  pears  sold  in  our  markets  are  brought  from  otber 
countiep. 

Our  decaying  Fruit  Trees  demand  immediate  attention,  for 
they  may  yet  be  saved.  Forsyth,  the  distinguished  manager  of 
the  Kensington  gardens,  in  England,  for  whose  improvements  in 
the  art  of  managing  fruit  trees  the  British  Government  paid  him 
four  thousand  pounds  sterling,  was  so  successful  in  restoring  de- 
cayed trees,  that  he  computed  "  an  old  tree,  cut  down  and  pro- 
perly medicated,  would  yield  as  much  fruit  the  sixth  year  after 
that  operation,  as  a  young  tree  planted  on  the  same  soil  would 
produce  in  the  twentieth  year  from  the  time  it  was  planted. 
He  thought  no  tree  lost  beyond  the  power  of  recovery  whose 
roots  were  sound,  were  it  ever  so  much  decayed  above  ground  ; 
provided  there  was  one  inch  of  sound  bark  upon  it,  he  did  not 
despair  of  recovering  it.  He  frequently  exchanged  with  those 
who  were  desirous  of  turning  out  old  trees.  If  they  would  give 
him  the  old  tree,  he  would  take  it  up,  and  put  in  its  place  any 
young  tree  they  might  choose  from  his  nursery :  for  he  had 
found  that,  even  after  being  transplanted,  such  old  trees  came 
into  bearing  much  sooner  than  any  young  ones  that  he  could 
procure.  By  the  same  rale,  this  experienced  gardener,  when 
he  was  obliged  to  go  to  a  nursery,  always  chose  the  oldest  plants 
he  could  find  there,  were  they  ever  so  stubbed  or  ill  looking." 
By  what  mighty  magic  were  such  wonderful  things  accomplish- 
ed ?  By  the  application  of  scientific  principles  to  the  improve- 
ment of  his  art.  Following  the  advice  of  the  vine  dreseer  in 
scripture,  it  was  his  practice  to  dig  round  them,  aiid  dung  them, 
and  at  the  season  when  trees  are  growing,  he  cut  away  all  (he 
dead  wood,  and  covered  the  wounds  with  a  composition  that 
prevented  the  exudation  of  sap,  and  defended  them  from  the 
air,  sun  and  rains.* 

*  Forsyth's  composition  tor  healing  wounds  in  trees  is  made  as  follows  : 
Take  lime  that  has  been  lone;  slaked,  or  chalk,  half  a  bushel;  wood 
ashes,  half  a  bushel  ;  sand,  two  quarts  ;  pulverize  and  sift  them  ;  add  fresh 
cow-dung,  one  bushel ;  and  work  ihe  whole  to  a  tine  mortar ;  dilute  it 
with  urine  or  soap-suds  to  the  consistence  of  a  paint,  and  apply  it  with  a 
painter's  brush  ;  sprinkle  over  it  a  powder,  composed  of  wood  ashes,  five 
parts,  and  ashes  of  burnt  bones,  one  part,  and  press  it  gc  ntly  wilh  the  hand. 
Tar  and  ochre,  or  pulverized  brick,  will  answer  the  same  purpose. 


44 

lu  lliis  county,  {>cacb,  plutn  and  cherry  trees  are  tnQch  Deg^ 
lecteiJ ;  notwithstanding  the  latter,  if  headed  down,*  and  pro- 
perly managed,  will  soon  bear  abundantly  ;  and  the  former  are 
more  easily  cultivated  than  most  fruit  trees.  The  best  kinds  of 
cherries,  ripening,  as  they  do,  at  an  early  season,  when  there  is 
no  other  kind  of  fruit  in  the  market,  will  always  command  a  good 
price.  Of  these,  the  birds,  which  cheer  you  with  their  melody 
in  the  spring,  and  greatly  beneBt  you  by  destroying  insects  dur- 
ing that  and  the  following  season?,  will  claim  a  share.  Instead 
of  declaring  war  against  such  good  friends,  act  a  more  generous 
part ;  plant  more  trees,  and  raise  fruit  enough  for  them,  your- 
selves and  the  market.  Peach  and  plum  trees  are  generally 
short-lived  :  but  this  is  a  circumstance  of  very  little  importance, 
as  they  can  always  be  replaced  if  a  few  stones  be  planted  annu- 
ally. The  better  varieties  of  the  plum  and  peach,  which  can 
always  be  raised  as  easily  as  any,  are  delicious  fruit,  and  may  be 
preserved  in  sugar:  or,  by  drying,  for  culinary  purposes;  or 
converted  into  vinous  liquors  by  fermenta'ion. 

European  walnuts  are  deserving  attention,  as  are  our  native 
ghagbarks.  The  growth  of  the  timber  will  pay  for  cultivating, 
and  the  fruit  will  be  clear  gain.  The  chesnut  is  a  valuable  tree, 
both  for  timber  and  its  iVuit ;  it  grows  rapidly;  and  a  late  dis- 
covery, that  the  wood  is  superior  to  oak  barjj  for  tanning,  ren- 
ders it  highly  important  that  it  should  be  cultivated  where  there 
are  such  extensive  tanneries  as  in  some  parts  of  Essex. 

It  has  been  said  of  American  farmers,  that  "they  plant"  and 
"  they  neglect'"  fruit  trees.  In  this  county  they  seldom  do  the 
first.  Nurseries  are  almost  total'y  neglected,  notwithstanding 
there  ought  to  be  one  on  every  farm,  containing  at  least  apple, 
pear,  plum,  peach  and  cherry  trees.  At  present  nothing  sells 
more  readily,  or  affords  the  cultivator  a  better  profit,  than  young 
fruit  or  ornamental  trees,  at  an  age  suitable  for  transplanting; 
but  should  nurseries  ever  become  so  numerous  as  to  do  away 


*  Heading  dozen. — This  method  of  pruning,  Forsyth  says,  will  cause 
trees  to  hear  every  year,  and  produce  three  fourths  more  frnit  than  they 
ollierwifC  would.  When  the  huti?  hegin  to  s^vell  in  the  spring,  cut  tlie 
princi();il  thoots  down  to  three  or  four  eyes.  In  old  tree?,  cut  one  half  of 
such  shoots  only,  in  one  year.  This  prevents  the  growth  of  longi,  naked 
liranches,  and  lills  tiie  head  of  the  tree  with  bearing  wood. 


-15 

this  inducement,  younjr  trees  would  still  be  worth  their  cost  to 
plant  ont  us  0[)[>orlunifie9  should  occur.  A  principal  reason 
why  good  Iruit  is  not  more  plenty,  is,  that  few  farmers  think 
thpy  can  s[)are  the  money  to  purchase  trees,  and  to  raise  them 
from  the  seed  seems  too  slow  a  method.  They  seem  to  despair 
of  livins:  'on?  enough  to  derive  any  advantage  from  such  labours, 
and  consequently  spend  a  long  life,  destitute  of  many  riches  and 
comforts  which  they  might  have  possessed.  The  best  policy 
for  agriculturalists,  as  well  as  others,  is  always  to  act  on  benev- 
olent principles.  Let  us  plant  these  trees,  should  be  their  lan- 
guage ;  they  will  benefit  somebody,  if  we  should  not  live  to 
enjoy  them  ourselves.  And,  on  a  dying  bed,  it  is  what  we  have 
done  to  promote  the  happiness  of  others  that  will  afford  us  the 
greatest  consolation. 

Quinces,  grapes,  gooseberries,  currants,  &c.  might  be  easily 
cultivated  in  such  quantities,  as  to  supply  our  citizens  with 
wines,  preserves  and  sweetmeats,  equally  palatable,  and  far 
less  injurious  to  health,  than  auch  as  are  now  at  a  great  expense 
imported. 

In  looking  over  English  books  on  gardening  and  cookery, 
Tvho  IS  not  surprised  that  so  few  of  (he  esculent  vegetables,  es- 
teemed valuable  in  Europe,  are  here  cultivated  ?  The  dilficul- 
ty  of  obtaining  seed  is  probably  the  chief  cause  of  this  neglect. 
May  we  not  confidently  hope,  that  one  of  the  benefits  resulting- 
from  the  establishment  of  this  society  will  be  the  more  gen-^ral 
distribution  of  rare  and  valuable  seeds ;  and  that,  by  CAaibiling 
at  our  annual  shows  the  productions  either  of  uncommon  plants, 
or  of  new  and  better  varieties  of  such  as  have  hitherto  been 
cultivated,  the  attention  of  farmers  will  be  attracted  to  means 
of  rendering  the  business  profilablc,  with  which  they  would 
otherwise  never  have  become  acquainted  ?  Might  not  our  an- 
nual meetings  in  the,  month  of  February  be  rendered  more  use- 
ful and  interesting,  if  the  members  generally  would  make  it  an 
object  to  carry  with  them  for  distribution  such  seeds,  roots,  and 
also  scions  of  the  best  kinds  of  fruits  for  grafting  ? 

It  would  also  be  good  policy,  I  conceive,  for  American  furm. 
ers  to  endeavour  to  supply  the  market  with'ucb  raw  materials^ 


46 

aa  our  soil  and  climate  will  produce  in  perfection,  as  are  in  de- 
mand, either  for  exportation  or  domestic  manufacture.  Under 
this  head  I  shall  call  your  attention  a  few  moments  to  flax,  hemp 
and  wool. 

With  the  cultivation  of  Flax,  almost  every  farmer  is  in 
some  measure  acquainted.  But  since  cotton  goods  have  lie- 
come  so  cheap,  it  has  been  generally  abandoned  as  unprofita- 
ble. Great  improvements  in  machinery  for  dressing  and  spin- 
ning it  having  been  recently  anounced,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  it  will  again  be  considered  one  of  the  most  profitable  of 
crops.  Linen  must  ever  be  preferred  to  cotton  for  many  uses, 
provided  it  can  be  afforded  nearly  as  cheap.  Expertness  in 
manufacturing  flax  into  useful  and  ornamental  articles  of  dress 
was  formerly,  and  I  trust  will  again,  be  considered  one  of  the 
most  honourable  of  female  accomplishments.  It  certainly  de- 
serves to  hold  a  superior  rank  to  embroidering,  tambouring  and 
painting.  But  to  enable  our  ingenious  and  industrious  ladies  to 
rival  foreigners  in  the  manufacture  of  laces  and  fine  linen,  they 
must  be  furnished  with  the  raw  material  in  perfection.  Our 
patriotic  farmers  therefore  would  do  well  to  acquaint  them- 
selves with  the  most  improved  methods  of  cultivating  and  man- 
aging flax.'*'  To  the  Irish,  who  have  carried  the  manufacture 
of  linen  to  so  great  a  degree  of  perfection,  we  may  confidently 
look  for  instruction  on  this  subject.  And  as  knowledge  acquir- 
ed from  books,  and  other  sources  of  like  nature,  is  not  alone 
suificient  to  ensure  success,  let  such  methods  as  have  been 
found  most  successful  elsewhere,  be  subjected  to  experiments 
on  a  small  scale  here.  Nor  let  failure  in  the  first  instance  dis- 
courage farther  efforts.  It  is  the  price  that  must  generally  be 
paid  for  all  valuable  improvements  in  any  art. 

Hi;mp  is  another  article  in  great  demand;  for  large  quanfitiee 
of  it  are  imported,  which  might  be  cultivated  here  as  success- 
fully as  in  any  country  on  the  globe.  Why  then  should  we 
yield  to  foreign  agriculturalists  all  the  profits  of  supplying  Amet*- 

*  The  thread  for  Mhich  Mrs.  Crowninshicld,  of  Danvers,  receiTed  a 
prcminni  from  (he  Mas?nchi!«eltE  rociefj',  a  fe.-v  years  since,  wns  made  of 
flax  sowed  thick,  so  as  to  prevent  it  from  growings  rank,  was  pulled  imme- 
diately after  the  blooms  liad  fallen,  and  boiled  inr-tead  of  l-eidg;  rotted, 
■\V,:^fer  rotting,  howc-ver.  would  answer  tlic  same  piirj-'osc. 


47 

?can  shipping  with  the  raw  material  for  cordage  and  canra;  ? 
According  to  the  Hon.  Justin  Ely's  statement,  hemp  ia  Hamp- 
shire county  Las  been  found  to  produce  from  four  (o  eight 
hundred  weight  to  the  acre,  and  from  six  to  nine  bushels  of 
seed.  It  is  worth,  at  this  time,  about  nine  and  a  iialf  dollars  per 
hundred,  and  the  seed  probably  a  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per 
bushel.  The  labour  of  cultivating,  pulling  and  rotting  it,  can- 
not be  more  than  is  usually  bestowed  on  an  acre  of  Indian  corn. 
An  expert  workman  can  dress  3  cwt.  in  a  weeJc.  Should  it 
ever  be  raised  in  large  quantities,  it  might  undoubtedly  be 
dressed  by  water,  at  a  much  cheaper  rate.  It  must  therefore 
1  think  prove  a  profitable  crop.  Were  this  not  the  case,  it 
would  notwithstanding  be  worthy  the  attention  of  American 
farmers,  who  ought  to  endeavour  to  supply  the  market  with 
every  thing  which  they  can  cultivate,  without  involving  them- 
selves in  debt :  for  by  so  doing  they  will  plant  the  seeds  of  re- 
sources, which  some  time  or  other  will  atford  them  a  rich  har- 
vest. 

Wool.  I  have  no  wish  to  renew  the  merino  speculations 
which  proved  so  ruinous  lo  many  a  few  years  since.  I  think 
however  that  we  have  much  reason  to  regret  the  indiscriminate, 
destruction  of  fine  flocks  which  followed.  For  although  I  do 
not  believe  that  it  will  ever  be  good  policy  for  the  farmers  of 
this  county  to  go  largely  into  the  raising  of  wool,  a  commodity- 
more  worthy  the  attention  of  those  who  inhabit  the  interior 
and  more  mountainous  parts  of  our  country,  still  1  think  that  a 
few  sheep  may  be  profitably  kept  on  almost  every  farm.  If  a 
farmer  has  plenty  of  wool  in  his  house,  his  wife,  daughters,  or 
female  domestics,  will  generally  be  disposed  to  manufacture  if, 
although  they  would  not  urge  him  to  go  and  buy  it  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  would  be  seldom  gratified  if  he  did.  Or  he  might 
make  an  exchange  with  the  woollen  manufacturer,  and  thus  ob- 
tain his  clothing  easier  than  he  otherwise  would,  although  he 
might,  by  paying  cash,  get  cloths  at  a  nominally  cheaper  rate. 
What  kind  of  sheep,  generally  speaking,  would  it  be  most  prof- 
itable to  keep  for  these  purposes  ?  Livingston  says,  half  blood- 
ed merinoes  ;  and  there  is  but  little  reason  to  doubt  his  correct- 
ness, when  we  take  into  consideration  the  value  of  the  mglton 
as  well  as- the  tleece. 


4fi 

Some  excellent  observations  on  the  subject  ol  ploughing — the 
best  method  of  increasing  the  quantity,  and  inoproving  the  quali- 
ty, of  manures — and  the  cultivation  of  root  crops,  and  other 
green  food,  for  feeding  cattle — contained  in  thfe  addresses  of  the 
Hon.  President  of  this  Society,  render  it  unnecessary  for  me 
to  call  your  attention  at  this  time  to  these  subjects  of  primary 
importance  to  every  farmer. 

On  the  subject  of  Wheat,  to  what  is  said  in  the  above  men- 
tioned addresses,  I  will  add  a  few  observations.  Although  the 
cultivation  of  this  most  valuable  grain  has  been  generally  aban- 
doned on  account  of  the  uncertainty  of  obtaining  a  crop,  it  is,  I 
must  think,  still  deserving' attention.  Is  it  not  surprising  that  a 
plant,  which  comes  to  perfection  both  at  the  north  and  south 
of  us,  cannot  be  advantageously  cultivated  here  ?  Is  it  not  evi- 
dent that  the  failure  must  be  owing,  not  to  the  climate,  but  to 
some  defect  in  the  preparation,  or  constituent  parts  of  the  soil  ? 
If  so,  these  defects  can  be  remedied.  Perhaps  the  following 
facts,  stated  by  that  distinguished  scientific  English  farmer.  Dr. 
James  Anderson,  will  furnish  all  the  hints  necessary  to  ensure 
success.  He  states,  '■'■  that  a  field  of  good  arable  land,  a  mellow 
loam,  in  Aberdeenshire,  which  had  long  been  under  culture,  waa 
subjected  to  a  thorough  summer  fallow,  to  get  rid  of  the  weeds  ; 
and  a  moderate  dressing  of  lime  and  some  dung  was  given  it  at  the 
same  time.  The  whole  field  was  sown  with  wjieat  at  the  proper 
season,  which  sprung  up  equally  in  every  part  of  it.  For  some 
time  no  difference  was  perceivable  in  the  appearance  of  crop 
over  the  whole.  By  and  by  it  was  observed  that  the  wheat, 
on  a  small  portion  of  the  field  which  by  accident  had  not  had 
any  lime  put  upon  it,  became  pale'and  sickly  :  while  the  crop 
on  other  parts  of  the  field  advanced  luxuriantly,  it  dwindled  oo 
this  particular  patch  more  and  more  until  about  the  beginning  of 
May  :  the  whole  had  then  died  quite  out,  and  not  one  stalk  of 
wheat  %vas  to  be  found  upon  it,  though  the  weeds,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  richness  of  the  soil,  grew  there  with  extreme 
luxuriance.  Perhaps  the  proportion  of  lime  did  not  in  this  case 
amount  to  more  than  one  thousandth  part  of  the  whole  ;  yet  the 
qualities  of  the  soil  were  thereby  totally  altered,  insomuch  that, 
though  before  the  application  of  that  dressing  the  soil  was  inca- 


49 

pable  of  producing  wheat  at  all,  it  was  found  to  t>e  at  all  times 
after  ihat  period  well  adapted  to  the  rearing  of  this  crop."  The 
elfcct  of  wood  ashes  on  soils,  thoujjh  less  durable,  is  eimiiar  to 
that  of  lime.  Will  not  (his  account  for  the  luxuriant  growth  of 
wheat  here  formerlj-,  and  in  those  places  where  the  wood  has 
been  recently  cleared  olT  by  burning,  at  this  time  ? 

The  greatest  improvements  in  Agriculture  in  Great  Britain, 
where  plaister  of  raris,  as  with  us,  is  found  nearly  inoperative, 
have  beea  made  during  the  last  forty  years  by  the  use  of  Lime. 
And  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  much  of  the  soil  in  this 
county  can  be  economically  improved  by  the  same  means.  A 
few  directions  therefore  for  using  quick  lime  cannot  fail  of  being 
interesting  :  for  this  can  be  more  easily  obtained  by  the  farmers 
in  this  county,  than  any  other  calcareous  earth,  except  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  soap  manufactories,  where  leached  ashes, 
which  contain  much  lime,  can  be  had  at  a  cheaper  rate.  The  fol- 
lowing directions  for  using  quick  lime  are  extracted  from  some 
of  the  best  English  writers  on  this  subject  : 

From  thirty  to  three  hundred  bushels  are  usually  applied  to 
an  acre  ;  but  en  poor  soils,  and  soils  which  abound  with  roots, 
peat  and  other  insoluble  vegetable  matter,  even  six  hundred 
may  be  used  with  advantage.  Soils  thus  dressed  will  be  render- 
ed more  fertile  forever  after. 

Quick  lime  should  be  reduced  to  powder  by  slacking  it  witl^ 
water,  and  spread  dry,  so  that  il  may  mix  as  intimately  with  the 
soil  as  possible,  at  least  one  month  before  the  seed  is  to  be  sown. 
Id  this  country,  it  being  necessary  to  sow  grain  as  early  as  pos- 
sible in  the  spring,  the  lime  should  be  spread  the  preceding 
autumn.  And  as  the  feet  of  cattle  are  sometimes  injured  by  it, 
it  must  be  suffered  to  lie  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  till  it  be- 
comes mild,  like  chalk,  which  will  take  place  in  a  few  weeks, 
before  it  is  either  ploughed  or  harrowed  in. 

Quick  lime  applieil  to  plants  while  growing,  and  of  course  to 
vegetating  seeds,  invariably  injures  them.  Quick  lime  injures 
all  animal  manures,  and  therefore  should  never  be  mixed  with 
oommon  dung,  or  applied  to  the  soil  at  the  same  time.  When 
applied  to  low,  boggy  soii-",  in  sufficient  quantities,  it  will  destroy 


50 

*!U)SS  and  the  meadow  grasses,  and  fit  them  for  producing  the 
most  abundant  crops  of  clover,  and  cultivated  grasses, 

InmcA'MoN  is  another  means  of  fertilizing  the  earth,  that  haS 
not  been  duly  appreciated  in  this  vicinity.  Falls  of  water  have 
been  estimated  in  England  to  be  worth  as  much  for  watering 
the  land,  as  for  mills  and  factories.  It  is  well  known  that  evea 
the  temporary  streams  formed  by  the  melting  snows  in  the 
spring,  if  caused  to  run  a  few  weeks  over  dry,  gravelly  soils, 
will  render  them  highly  productive  of  grass  the  whole  season, 
iet  our  brooks  and  rivulets  are  suffered  not  only  to  run  to 
waste,  but  even  to  render  barren  extensive  tracts  of  land  in 
their  vicinity.  Wherever  there  is  a  fall  of  water  running 
through  land  suitable  for  the  purpose,  let  it  be  divided,  and  car- 
ried as  high  on  each  side  as  it  will  ru»  freely  ;  throw  the  inter- 
mediate space  into  ridges  about  twenty  feet  wide  ;  along  the 
top  of  each  let  a  small  stream  of  water  be  passed  occasionally  ; 
give  the  whole  a  dressing  of  ashes,  or  lime  ;  and  it  will  produce 
the  most  abundant  crops  of  grass,  without  any  further  expense. 
Admitting  therefore  that  the  expense  of  preparing  land  in  this 
manner  should  amount,  in  th€  first  instance,  to  an  hundred  or 
even  to  two  hundred  dollars  an  acre,  it  would  still  prove  cheap- 
er than  most  mowing  land,  which  can  be  kept  productive  only 
by  frequent  expensive  manuring.  Such  land  would  contribute 
the  whole  of  its  productions  to  enrich  the  other  parts  of  the 
farm  ;  a  consideration  of  no  little  importance  in  estimating  its 
value. 

By  mixing  different  earths,  soils  may  be  permanently  improv- 
ed. Clayey  and  sandy  lands  are  frequently  found  in  the  imme* 
diate  vicinity  of  each  other.  By  dressing  the  sandy  with  cla}', 
and  the  claj'ey  with  sand,  both,  though  naturally  barren,  may 
be  rendered  fertile.  That  similar  fertility  would  follow  the 
mixture  of  other  earths  cannot  be  doubted.  Experiments  made 
on  chemical  principles,  will  in  all  human  probability  develop 
most  valuable  resources  of  this  kind,  which  are  at  present  un- 
known to  agriculturalists. 

To  the  subject  of  fertilizing  and  rendering  more  valuable  pas- 
ture lands,,  by  covering  them  with  Trees,  I  cannot  too  strongly 
Mrge  your  attention.     Locust  trees  grow  rapidly,  and  produce 


51 

ibe  most  valuable  wood  and  timber.  Planted  oh  dry,  sandy  oi 
gravelly  pastures,  they  greatly  fertilize  the  soil  by  their  abun- 
dance of  tender  leaves,  which,  falling  on  the  ground,  rot  in  the 
course  of  the  winter  and  spring.  Cattle  are  particularly  fond 
of  the  grass  which  grows  thick  and  luxuriantly  under  them,  as 
well  as  of  the  young  trees  which  are  continually  springing  up 
from  their  rootf. 

Similar  advantages  may  be  derived  from  planting  low,  rocky 
or  bogery  lands,  which  are  generally  covered  with  alders  and 
other  useless  bushes,  with  common  willows.  These  trees  not 
only  produce  wood,  which  when  dried  is  better  than  white  pine, 
faster  than  most  other  trees,  but  greatly  meliorate  boggy  soils, 
and  bring  in  a  better  kind  of  grass,  which  makes  excellent  pas- 
turage. Of  the  correctness  of  these  assertions,  every  one,  who 
will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  the  land  under  groves  of  locust 
and  willow  trees,  must,  I  think,  be  fully  convinced.  They  are 
most  certainly  not  the  vain  speculations  of  a  theorist.  Like  ma- 
ny other  facts  contained  in  this  address,  they  are  derived  not 
from  books,  but  from  the  observation  and  experience  of  my 
worthy  father,  who  spent  an  industrious,  useful  and  observing 
life  in  the  practice  of  husbandry.  Nor  are  the  above  mentioned 
the  only  advantages  derived  from  covering  pasture  lands  with 
trees.  They  serve  to  shelter  the  cattle,  while  feeding,  from 
the  exhausting  effects  of  a  burning  sun.  They  prevent  rapid 
evaporation,  and  probably  attract  showers ;  consequently  in- 
crease the  size  of  adjacent  streams,  and  thereby  fertilize  soils 
far  beyond  the  reach  of  their  shadows.  Besides,  whatever 
grows  out  of  the  earth  ultimately  returns  to  it  again,  to  afford 
food  for  other  plants  wliich  succeed.  Consequently  the  more 
any  soil  can  be  made  to  produce,  the  more  that,  or  some  other 
in  the  neighbourhood,  will  be  enriched.  Do  any  doubt  the  cor- 
rectness of  these  theories?  Why  has  Palestine,  or  the  holy 
land,  which  once  flowed  with  milk  and  honey,  and  supported  by 
its  own  produce,  on  an  extent  of  territory  not  exceeding  that  of 
Massachusetts,  seven  millions  of  people,  become  so  barren  as 
scarcely  to  be  able  to  preserve  a  few  thousand  miserable 
wretches  ?  Why  has  the  river  Jordan,  once  undoubtedly  a  no- 
ble strc  am  rolling  through  fertile  valleys,  been  reduced  to  a  small 


da 

brook  ivindiDg  ils  way  through  a  sandy  desert  ?  You  wiil  per* 
haps  answer,  the  malediction  of  the  Most  High  rests  upon  it, 
True,  but  the  Almighty  effects  his  purposes  through  the  agency 
of  natural  causes.  It  was  overrun  by  victorious  armies,  and 
vegetation  was  destroyed  ;  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun, 
the  soil  itself  disappeared,  the  springs  were  dried  up,  and  fer- 
tilizing showers  became  Jess  and  less  frequent.  The  same  pro- 
cess is  now  going  on  in  our  naked  pastures;  many  of  which, 
that  a  few  years  since  were  well  clothed  with  grass,  now  pro- 
duce little  or  nothing  but  moss. 

Improving  the  breeds  and  condition  of  Live  Siock  must  also 
increase  the  profits  of  Agriculture.  One  good  cow  full  fed  is 
^vorth  more  for  the  dairy  than  four  ordinary  half-starved  ones.* 
Would  it  not  therefore  be  for  the  interest  of  every  farmer  to 
keep  no  more  neat  cattle  than  can  be  well  pastured  or  soiled  in  the 
summer,  and  fed  ou  English  hay,  corn  fodder,  potatoes,  turnips, 
carrots,  beets,  &.c.  in  the  winter,  throwing  the  coarser  kinds  of 
hay  and  straw  under  them  to  furnish  a  warm  bed,  and  to  be  con- 
verted into  manure  at  the  same  time?  By  so  doing,  and  by  cross- 
ing inferior  breeds,  and  raising  the  best  calves,  it  is  in  the  power 
of  almost  every  farmer  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  without 
involving  himself  in  debt,  greatly  to  improve  his  stock,  and  in- 
crease the  income  of  his  dairy.  I  know  that  this  high  feeding, 
of  milch  cows  is  not  generally  believed  to  be  profitable,  notwith- 
standing Mr.  Oakes  and  others  have  proved  so  satisfactorily  that 
one  bushel  of  Indian  corn  per  week  will  cause  a  good  cow  to 
yi'eld  from  seven  to  ten  additional  pounds  of  butter.  Allowing 
the  corn  to  be  worth  62i  cents,  the  extra  butter,  at  12i  cents 
per  pound,  would  pay  all  the  additional  labour,  and  afford  a  good 
profit  (on  the  corn)  besides.  But  this  is  not  all  :  the  cow  would 
give  milk  nearly  the  whole  year,  be  made  good  beef  at  the  same 
time,  and  her  calves  would  be  much  more  valuable.  Indian 
corn,  however,  is  probably  not  the  cheapest  article  to  feed  cattle 

*  If  cows  are  ever  allowed  to  fall  ver^'  Ioav  during  the  winter,  in  vain 
sliall  you  hope  to  obtain  an  abundant  supply  of  luilk  by  bringing  (liem  into 
tiigh  condition  in  the  summer  ;  ibr  if  a  cow  be  lean  at  the  lime  of  calving, 
no  management  afterwards  will  ever  bring  her  to  yield  for  that  season  any 
thing  like  the  quantity  of  milk  that  she  would  have  done,  Lad  she  been  aB 
th^  winter  in  a  high  condition.  ^ndereon. 


53 

upon :  potatoes,  turnips,  beets,  carrots,  pumpkins,  Sec.  are  much 
more  easily  raised,  and  will  probably  answer  llie  same  purpose. 

Farmers  generally  would  make  their  pursuits  more  profitable  if 
Ihey  were  careful  to  send  to  maiket  the  best  articles,  in  the 
neatest  order.  Good  butter,  good  cheese,  good  fruit,  good  cider, 
good  pork,  beef  and  mutton,  will  always  sell,  even  when  the 
market  is  g<utted  with  inferior  kinds  of  the  same  articles.  The 
difference  of  the  expense  of  raising  or  preparing  the  best,  and 
the  more  ordinary  kinds  of  these  commodities,  is  often  very 
trifling.  The  butter,  for  example,  offered  for  sale,  is  often  bad, 
rancid,  and  almost  worthless.  Yet  such  butter  costs  almost  as 
much,  perhaps  often  more,  than  it  would  to  have  made  it  of  the 
best  quality.  Butter  should  always  be  made,  salted  and  preserv- 
ed by  rule.  Despise  not,  therefore,  directions  on  this  subject 
found  in  books  ;  for  it  is  impos?ible  always  to  make  good  btitter, 
if  it  be  carelessly  worked  over,  and  salted  as  chance  directs. 
The  difliculty  of  making  good  butter,  and  of  sending  it  uninjured 
to  the  market,  in  the  hottest  weather,  may  be  easily  obviated. 
For,  with  very  little  trouble  or  expense,  ice  may  be  kept  in  a 
common  cellar  the  whole  season.* 

In  discussing  the  means  of  rendering  the  pursuit  of  Agricul- 
ture more  profitable.  Domestic  Economy  is  too  important  to  be 
omitted.     I  am  well  aware  that  it  is  extremely  difhcult  lo  speuk 

♦  In  the  middle  or  one  corner  of  the  cellar  may  be  biiiit  a  bin.  Throw 
down  some  boards,  and  cover  (he  bottom  with  sfraw  ;  or,  wliat  li  better, 
the  spent  bark  of  tanneries,  generally  known  by  tlie  name  of  tan,  in  suffi- 
cient quantity  to  leave  it  a  foot  in  tiiickness  under  the  necessary  pres- 
sure. In  the  month  of  February  or  March,  go  to  (lie  most  con\enieiit  pond 
of  frej'h  water,  and  obtain  a  sufficient  quantity  of  ice,  cutting  or  sawing  it 
up  in  block?  as  large  as  can  be  convenienlly  handled,  lud  pile  it  v.p 
as  compactly  as  possible  in  the  middle  of  the  bin,  leavimj  a  space  of 
one  foot  or  more  all  around  it ;  till  this  space,  and  cover  the  whole  with 
tan  or  straw,  and  the  ice,  unless  the  cellar  be  uncommonly  open,  will 
keep  the  whole  summej.  'I"wo  men,  and  one  pair  of  oxen,  will  perform 
all  the  labour  necessary  to  lay  in  such  a  store  of  ice  in  one  day.  Around 
this  ice  let  (he  pans  of  Kiilk  be  set,  and  place  the  pots  of  creiun  and  butter 
upon  it.  IMacc  two  or  three  pounds  of  ice  in  each  box,  and  if  conveyed 
thither  as  expediti'.usly  as  from  any  part  of  the  county  of  Essex  it  may  be 
done,  it  will  reach  the  market  in  the  lincsl  order. 

Butter  not  ivanted  for  immediate  use  is  well  preserved  as  follows : — 
Take  two  parts  of  the  best  common  «alt,  one  part  of  sugar,  and  one  of  salt- 
petre ;  beat  them  up  together,  and  blend  (he  whole  completely.  Take  one 
ounce  of  this  composition  for  every  pound  of  butler,  work  it  well  into  the 
njass,  and  close  it  up  for  use. 


54 

OB  this  subject,  without  being  misunderstood,  and  giving  offence. 
Those  who  cultivate  the  soil  deserve  to  live  on  its  best  produc- 
tions. It  is  mj  most  sincere  desire,  that  farmers  should  live  well. 
But  the  phrase,  live  well^  is  to  be  understood  living  in  such  a 
manner  as  will  most  promote  their  happiness,  by  preserving  the 
health  of  the  body,  and  tranquillity  of  the  mind  ;  and  not  living 
in  habits  of  luxury  and  iatemperance,  the  most  expeditious  means 
of  destroying  both.  I  know  that  it  requires  greater  fortitude 
than  many  possess  to  oppose  the  fashions  of  the  times,  and  to 
change  established  habits.  1  also  well  know  that  a  man  cannot 
always  do  as  he  could  wish,  because  his  views  may  not  coincide 
with  other  members  of  his  family.  Still  in  all  cases  something 
may  be  done  towards  retrenching  expenses  that  consume  the 
whole  of  a  farmer's  income.  So  long  as  those  engaged  in  hus- 
bandry purchase  from  other  nations  a  large  portion  of  their  daily 
food  and  clothing,  so  long  they  will  be  obliged  to  labour  hard, 
and  submit  to  many  real  privations,  to  enable  them  to  defray 
their  current  family  expenses.  It  therefore  becomes  an  object 
of  serious  concern  to  them,  to  learn  some  way  of  more  cheaply 
supplying  the  wants,  without  diminishing  the  comforts,  of  life. 
Let  those  who  feel  interested  in  this  subject  review  a  list  of 
their  expenditures  in  times  past,  and  they  will  probably  be  able 
to  discover  the  means  of  saving  much  in  future.  One  exhausting 
drain  on  the  resources  of  many  farmers  is  the  use  of  ardent  spir- 
its, as  a  common  drink.  This  not  uufrequently  consumes  their 
health,  cash,  and  respectability.  If  therefore  thiB  use  of  strong 
drinks  must  be  continued,  let  such  as  every  farmer  can  prepare 
for  himself  be  substituted  for  distilled  spirits.  Cider,  wine,  and 
strong  beer,  well  made  and  carefully  preserved,  will  surely  an- 
s^ver  every  purpose  to  which  spirituous  liquors  can  be  usefully 
applied.  The  art  of  making  these  ought  therefore  to  be  studi- 
ed by  every  person  desirous  of  preserving  the  health  of  his 
f:imi!y,  or  of  huslianding  his  resources  to  the  best  advantage. 
The  most  successful  practices  in  thi;  art,  time  will  not  permit 
me  to  detail.     Let  the  following  hints  suffice. 

By  selecting  good,  sound  apples,  and  properly  managing  the 
liquor  during  and  after  fermentation,  Cider  can  be  made  with- 
out addition,  possessing  a  fine  llavocr,  and  in  strength  equal  to 
al'oul  one  fourth  its  quantity  of  proof  spirit.     By  the  addition  of 


55 

ibout  twenty  pounds  of  sugar  to  a  barrel  of  common  cidef,  as 
it  comes  from  the  press,  it  will  fine  itself,  keep  for  years,  even 
on  the  lees,  without  souring,  and  be  much  improved  in  strength. 
Wine,  far  superior  to  most  that  is  imported,  either  for  use 
in  sickness  or  health,  may  be  made  from  currants,  ripe  or  unripe 
grapes,  cranberries,  or  other  subacid  fruits,  allowing  about  a 
bushel  and  a  half  of  fruit,  and  seventy^five  pounds  of  sugar,  to 
the  barrel.  Good  wines  made  in  this  manner  will  cost  about 
fifty  cents  per  gallon.  They  now  readily  sell  for  a  dollar.  A  re- 
spectable member  of  this  society,  Mr.  Caleb  Smith,  of  Danvers, 
shipped  some  currant  wine  of  his  own  making  to  India,  a  few 
years  since,  and  there  obtained  for  it  over  two  dollars  a  gallon. 
This  wine  was  made,  and  kept  perfectly  well  on  this  long  voy- 
age, without  the  addition  of  brandy,  or  other  spirit,  a  circum- 
stance which  greatly  increases  the  value  of  the  experiment,  and 
certainly  entitles  Mr.  Smith  to  the  thanks  of  the  communily. 

■  Pour  bushels  of  barley  malted,  and  a  pound  of  hops,  will  make 
a  barrel  of  strong  and  a  barrel  of  Table  Beer.  These  liquors 
should  be  made  in  the  winter,  and  will  be  found  excellent  drink.< 
in  the  following  summer,  free  from  all  the  objections  which  ma- 
By  have  to  new  beer  and  cider  at  that  season.  All  the  materi- 
als, for  composing  this  best  of  strong  drinks  for  labouring  men, 
can  be  easily  raised,  and  all  the  work,  except  malting  the  bar- 
ley, which  will  cost  about  twenty  cents  a  bushel,  can  be  per; 
formed,  at  a  leisure  season,  by  the  farmers  themselves. 

Agriculturalists  of  Essex  !  You  possess  a  territory  in  which 
are  found  a  great  variety  of  soils;  and  the  means  of  rendering 
them  fertile  are  every  where  abundant.  T^iree  fourths  of  your 
borders  are  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  which  are  continu- 
ally throwing  on  your  shores  materials  for  excellent  manure,  and 
which  afford,  without  the  expense  of  making  canals,  all  the  fa- 
cilities of  a  conveyance  by  water  for  your  surplus  produce  to  all 
the  most  important  markets  on  the  globe.  The  same  convey- 
ance will  bring  lime  from  distant  quarries,  if  it  cannot  be  founti 
at  home,  at  a  small  advance  on  its  prime  cost,  to  within  a  few 
miles  of  your  doors.  What  then  is  there  to  prevent  this  counly 
from  becoming  one  of  the  most  fertile  and  prodoctive  dii^tricti 
in  New-Englaiul  ?     In^Justry  is  not  wanting,  and  luxury  has  no^ 


5G 

IliaJe  greater  inroads  among  us  than  it  has  lu  most  other  placefc 
in  our  favoured  land.  A  more  general  diffusion  of  the  knowl- 
edge acquired  by  the  experience  of  individuals,  a  scientific  ac- 
quaintance with  the  principles  of  the  art,  more  enterprise,  gene- 
rous emulation,  and  noble  ambition,  among  farmers  themselves, 
are  what  seem  to  be  most  necessary  to  carry  the  art  of  husband- 
ry here  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection.  These  benefits  we 
trust  will  result  from  the  institution  of  this  society: — An  institu- 
tion, in  the  success  of  which,  every  owner  of  land  ought  to  feel 
particularly  interested.  Eight  or  nine  hundred  dollars  more  are 
wanted  to  enable  the  society  to  obtain  the  whole  of  the  bounty 
30  generously  proffered  by  the  government  of  the  state.  Are 
there  not  many  jiresent  who  are  willing  to  contribute  to  this  ob- 
ject three  dollars  each,  and  become  members  of  this  society  for 
life  ?  Having  done  this,  another  important  duty  remains  to  be 
performed;  that  is,  to  exert  all  your  powers  to  render  the  so- 
ciety respectable,  and  extend  its  influence  as  widely  as  possible 
To  do  this,  it  is  desirable  that  every  member  should  make  some 
communication  of  his  success,  or  exhibit  something  worthy  of 
notice,  on  every  occasion  like  the  present.  Another  important 
duty  is,  to  prevent  our  aunual  cattle  shows  from  becoming  scene* 
of  riot,  drunkenness,  gambling,  cheating,  and  dissipation.  Let 
the  "  Farmer's  Jubilee"  be  sacred  to  sober  joys  ,and  temperate 
festivity,  throughout  the  county  ;  but  let  every  good  citizen  dis- 
countenance every  thing  of  a  contrary  tendency.  Then  indeed 
will  the  farmers  of  Essex,  in  unison  with  every  benevolent  mind, 
have  reason  to  bless  the  institution,  and  venerate  the  founders, 
and  all  who  shall  distinguish  themselves  as  members,  of  the 
l^.ssex  Agricultural  Society,  to  the  latest  generation. 


ERRATA. 


i'jge  ^21,  eighth  line  from  boUoui,  for  October,  1820,  reatl  October,  182  J 
l^age  29,  in  some  of  the  copies,  for  D.  Commins,  Secretary,  Dec.  7. 

:}19,  read  F.  Howes,  Secretary,  Jan.  10,  1821. 
Fage  47,  ninth  line  from  bolioiu,  for  gratified  if  1  e  did,  read  gratified 

: '^''.V  did.  ' 


i 


